Digital Crisis: Thus the Digital Marines fought there
by FrenchGeek5550
Summary: After the Battle of Tokyo, the Earth's nations have joined together and created the International Digimon Defense Force in order to aid and liberate the Digital World from the "Imperium", a totalitarian Digimon empire who seeks to conquer the Real World. This story centers around the 'Digital Marines', a battalion size U.S. Marine force with digimon amongst their ranks.
1. Prologue

Digital Crisis:

Thus, the digital Marines fought there.

In the year 2017, humanity discovered the existence of Digimon and the Digital World after the bloody battle of Tokyo, that lasted an entire day and thousands of civilians and American and Japanese soldiers killed, with unknown numbers of Digimon deleted. What the humans didn't know was that a few number of digimon lived amongst them in the shadows, protecting them from other rogue digimon. However, these invaders weren't the usual bunch of corrupted or rogue digimon but an organized, disciplined and massive army from the 'Digimon Imperium', a totalitarian empire ruled by an unknown digimon emperor, seeking to conquer and rule over both worlds. The aformentioned empire has already plunged the Digital World in a global scale war and the digimon are now seeking help to the humans. After several months of negociations and preparation, the United Nations decided to help them fight off the 'Imperials'. Thus, the International Digimon Defense Force (IDDF) was born. During the same time, the 1st U.S 'Digimon Expeditionary Marines' or 'Digital Marines' was created. It is consisted of the remaining Marines who survived the battle and all available digimon who fought alongside them or lived in Tokyo. On June 20th 2017, the IDDF entered the Digital World with a force of 64,700 men, starting in the southern regions and will fight in a long and bloody conflict which will last three years, and so marking the first 'Digital Crisis'.

Second Lieutenant Stephen Raymond, a distinguished and battle-hardened Marine and now awarded as a hero in Japan, will be leading the Digital Marines in the new world. A new frontier has been open, battles will be fought; they will embark in a deadly and dangerous military campaign to free the Digital World and protect the Real World; earning them the title of "Earth's first line of defense". This is their story.

* * *

The sound of heavy combat boots hitting the concrete road echoed loudly as soldiers were embarking in the armoured personnel carriers obediently. Ahead of the large convoy of armoured vehicles and tanks was the infamous marble gate, the very gate that opened up in the middle of Ginza District, where an army of hostile creatures murdered and slaughtered thousands of innocent civilians, plunging Tokyo into a warzone. Many soldiers and Marines fougth and died to push back the invading force and retake control of the city. And now they are about to do the same thing, go through the gate and kill anything that isn't human. Everyone demanded payback, revenge. Much of Tokyo still in recovery from that battle. Ruins and destroyed buildings and streets scattered across the Japanese capital city.

However "Operation Restoring Freedom" isn't just about payback. The United Nations is willing to negociate and establish a relation with the Digital World, whether the people agreed or not. With a new world comes new ressources and every government wants a piece of this. Untapped minerals and riches of unimaginable proportions is what many nations estimated. As for the men and women in uniform who are about to embark in this crusade, the Digital World is a major security threat, and so most of them are willing to give their lives in order to defend their homeland and families. This isn't just a fight for the nation, it is a fight for this world.

He took a quick glance at his Marines before climbing in the MRAP and closed the rear doors shut. As the troops got in the vehicles and awaited for further orders, the Japanese Prime Minister begins his speech to the Japanese crowd gathered at the border of Ginza District, now blocked off by the Japanese Self-Defense Force. The speech was more to get further approuval ratings for the Prime Minister than necessary. He was a coward and lazy, unable to make a single decision without worrying about the population's reaction. The reason why the JSDF is taking part in this campaign was because of him; but he didn't have a plan on what to do after that, no politics or policies about the Digital World, not even an increase in military budget to better equip the troops.

But alas, they were soldiers and they didn't care much about that.

Finally after his speech ended, the horns of war were blown, the engines of war roared to life. At the head of the convoy were the US Marines, they will be the first humans to set foot in the Digital World since reconnaissance missions were only conducted by unmanned drones. The gate to the Digital World towered over the column of vehicles, its intimidating shadow casted over them. The empty dark void that filled the gate was a disturbing and uneasy sight. However it is said that it was safe for them to cross. And so on cue, the column drove forward and into the gate, the vehicles disappeared into the darkness, as if swallowed up by the gate. The civilians cheered and gave their farewell to the disappearing soldiers.

The First Human Intervention begins. This conflict is the starting point to a cataclysm that will transpire in the near future.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

Dawnstar Hill

The armoured column of the 1st Digital Marines was soon envelopped in darkness when it entered the gate to the DigiWorld. The dark void was long, empty, lifeless and silent, even the roars of the vehicles' engines were somehow muffled. 2nd Lieutenant Raymond was sitting in one of the Cougar MRAP following behind the M1 Abrams at the front of the column with some of his Marines, which also included a Cyberdramon amongst them. The digimon was sitting across him with his M240B light machine gun. He was one of the few digimon who could use human weaponry with ease. The digimon inspects his weapon and his chest rig, given by the marines, every minute, an attitude that was ironic since he's one of the most intimidating looking fellow in the platoon yet he seems nervous and fidgety beside the sleeping or pumped up human Marines.

"You okay Lance Corporal?" The digimon perked his head up and looked at his officer.

"Yes sir, just a bit nervous." He replied.

"Do you have family relatives in the DigiWorld?" Asked the Lieutenant.

"No sir, my family is back in Tokyo."

"Ah... so you have a tamer?" The digimon nodded.

"Yes sir, but I consider him as my little brother."

"Just try to relax a bit okay? Just remember your training and you'll be fine."

"Will do, sir."

A few minutes later, the tanks had already passed through the other side of the gate, behind them were the MRAPs and LAVs stopping for the marines to come out and take defensive positions. The tanks were spread out to make a full 180° radius defensive field of view, the infantry and light armored vehicles between each tank. Once boots on the ground, the marines laid down on the slopes of the hill, making a firing line in front of the vehicles whilst the mortar teams were deployed behind them. Stephen laid down on the ground with his platoon, soon after Cyberdramon laid down on the grass next to him with his backpack full of ammo boxes and 40 mm grenades.

"Did someone ordered a platoon size ammo supply?" He asked amusingly.

"Thanks, just make sure we really do have enough ammo."

"Already did, sir."

Stephen's radio sprang to life and heard a tank crewman announcing:

" _Mouvement to our twelve, six hundred meters, over."_

He looked at the designated direction and indeed saw bright lights appear in the distance. It was a huge army, consisting mostly of foot soldiers with only a few aerial digimon flying above the army.

" _Hostiles confirmed, awaiting orders."_ Said a tank crewman.

Stephen inspected his M4A1 before looking through his ACOG to see the lights moving closer at their positions. He placed his thumb on the select fire and took the safety off.

He then heard on his radio the order from the leader of this expedition, Colonel Eversman.

"Engage all hostiles. Hold the line for the rest of our marines."

"Give them hell boys!" Shouted an officer in command before a storm of bullets and tank shells started to pound the enemy downrange.

The M224 mortars began their rain of death to the marching army. The night sky was soon filled with whistles of the mortars, the hill spewing light at the digimon as explosions erupted around them. Meanwhile, aerial digimon rushed forward, closing in on the human force rapidly.

"Their air force are closing in on us!" Yelled a marine.

However, the threat was soon dealt with when machine guns and missiles flew at them. Small arms fire as well as 20mm rounds and .50 calibers were shot through the air, decimating the aerial force. LAVs and IFVs opened fire and lit up the sky with tracer rounds and missiles. Eventhough they're losing numbers quickly, the digimon army managed to be in range and fired back, unleashing their firepower at the Marines. Stephen continued to open fire even when bullets and energy projectiles flew above him. They were now starting to take some losses but it was nothing compared to the imperial soldiers who were suffering heavy casualties. Either they underestimated them or their weapons couldn't fire as far as the humans, Stephen didn't care.

He took out the empty mag and placed another one in his carbine before continuing his fire, he shot in short bursts when suddenly he heard someone yelling in surprise and pain.

"I'm hit!"

He looked behind him and saw that one the mortar teams' crewmen has been shot. Hopefully for him, a corpsman was already taking care of his wound while the other crewmen resumed their rain of death.

A few minutes later and the imperial army was starting to fall back while the Marines continued to shower them with bullets and shells as their numbers increased by the minute.

"Cease fire! Cease fire!" Ordered the lieutenant and the other officers.

The sun was beginning to rise up while the Marines continued to receive reinforcements while others went down the slopes of the hill to secure a foot hold for their soon-to-be Forward Operating Base. Unlike humans, digimon vanish when they die, so the Marines couldn't get an estimate of enemies killed during the onslaught.

Stephen walked down at the base of the hill cautiously when he then noticed something ahead of him. He raised his rifle, the barrel aimed at the thing and slowly approached it. When he was a few meters away, he noticed that it was an unconscious Weregarurumon laying on the grass. The human poked it with his weapon before quickly taking a few steps back as the digimon started to move and growl. At first he was relaxed when he saw that the creature was confused but then immediately tensed up and raised his rifle at it when it growled and looked at him aggressively, ready to strike at any time.

"Easy there buddy, just put your paws in the air and we'll calming talk about it." He said calmly. The digimon didn't seem to trust him.

"I promise I won't harm you if you think I'm gonna shoot a bullet through your brains."

"If I were you, I would listen to him." Stephen looked to his right and saw a Flamedramon with his M16A4 aimed at the commando-type wolf.

"Lieutenant." He acknowledged.

"Sergeant."

The wolf looked between them before lowering its guard and released a sigh of defeat.

"Fine... I surrender." It declared with a feminine voice.

Stephen looked at the sergeant and nodded. He returned the nod and approached carefully at the other digimon.

"Sorry for making you feel uncomfortable with these but we have to for safey reasons." Said Flamedramon as he cuffed her with zip lock handcuffs which she easily complied. They walked towards the top of the hill with Stephen walking ahead of them.

"Permission to speak sir?" Asked the blue dragon.

"Granted."

"Uh... where should we put her, sir? We just got here and we didn't even started to establish a makeshift F.O.B." The lieutenant thought about it for a moment before finding a simple solution.

"Looks like you're going to babysit her, marine. Take her to one of our MRAPs and take care of her humanely, got it?"

"Crap." Flamedramon swore under his breath, obviously embarrassed by the task that was given to him.

"Don't be sad sergeant, I bet you two will get along perfectly." Stephen said jokingly.

The two digimons glanced at each other and instantly looked away, now flushed from the embarrassing moment.

 _Meanwhile elsewhere._

The noise of rapid metal clinking was heard all over the courtyard as Knightmon runs through the corridors.

"Why do they have to build such a big castle?" He asked at no one in particuliar under his breath.

Eventhough he passed the rigorous and painfully long training of the Royal Knights' Strike Force, he still has a bad time with his commanders' castle. A few minutes later, he finally arrived at his destination. He opened the heavy wooden double doors of the meeting room and immediately knelt down once he was in.

"My lords, I bring urgent news!" He declared hastily and bowed his head down.

All 11 Royal Knights were present in the room, sitting around a wide wooden and marble round table. At the end of the table was the current leader and co-founder of the Royal Knights, Alphamon. Standing to his right was Ouryuumon, the Captain of the Strike force, and to his left was his second in command, Omegamon.

"And what seems to be this urgent news?" Asked the Aloof Hermit calmly while resting his head on his hands.

"The humans are here and are now occupying Dawnstar Hill!" The Knightmon replied.

The Royal Knights were surprised by the news and started to talk to each other, slightly a bit worried. Alphamon raised his hand and soon after the meeting room was filled with silence.

"What happened to the Imperial forces stationed there?" He asked.

"The 54th Legion was completely annilihated along the 52nd Legion who was sent in the portal, they're currently sending the 33rd Legion as we speak."

"Impossible! How could they have managed to defeat two entire legions and being able to take a foothold?" Asked incrediously the Knights' tactitian, Duftmon.

"Maybe we really did underestimated them." Declared Magnamon.

"Do they have the firepower to defeat them?" Asked Ouryuumon at his subordinate.

"Can't say I know sir. I'm just a messenger to the Scout Force, sir."

"What do you think of this Alphamon?" Asked Omegamon to the black knight.

"If they managed to take a foothold at Dawnstar Hill, they'll probably begin their occupation in the local area, either by force or peacefully." He then looked at largest member of the order. "Examon, I want you to go there and try to establish a friendly contact with them. If they accept it, lead them here so we could negotiate and have them as our allies."

"Do you really think they would trust us?" Asked Dukemon.

"In times of war, sometimes you need to form an alliance with an unusual force if they have a common enemy. Perhaps they could help us end this war once and for all." The Royal Knights nodded in agreement. "Besides, I think it's about time we finally meet our creators, no?" He added jokingly.

Once the meeting was over, Examon headed to the exit until Alphamon called him.

"Try to keep out of imperial sight. Good luck."

The massive dragon nodded before opening the wooden doors and prepares himself on the task at hand.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Hearts and minds

A week has passed since their first battle in the DigiWorld. The expedition force has already started to build their FOB on the hill. It was big enough to build a base that could contain a few companies but soon they'll need more ground if they want the entire 1st expedition force in the world.

Stephen was standing in front of Eversman's office in the Command Center, who was reading his combat report.

"Has our prisonner said anything else?" The colonel asked while still reading.

"No sir. Just asking for food and water and some occasional nap time, sir." He replied.

"Right... Well we won't force her to like us either. Anyways, lieutenant, as you may know from our current situation, we're lacking some space for the main force to station here. That is why I called you here, like I did with the other officers, to go on a deep recon mission for you and your platoon. I want you to explore beyond our AO and find any villages and towns, establish a friendly relation with them. I want every detail on your map: terrain, rivers, caves, settlements and ect. Make sure you have enough supply to last a month. Your callsign has changed to 'Recon team 4'. Any questions?"

"What about the prisonner?"

"Bring her with you, she could be your guide. Anything else?"

"No sir." They both saluted at eachother before Stephen walked out of the office.

Stephen's platoon was standing at his attention, all in their combat gear while their officer is reading and checking the supply list with Weregarurumon standing shyly behind him with a desert marpat colored scarf around her neck so she could be recognised by the marines. Behind the standing soldiers were their convoy's vehicles: three Cougar 4x4 MRAPs, one LAV-25 and one Stryker APC.

"Dukeman, have you verified that we have enough supply to last a month?" Asked Stephen.

"Food, water and ammo sir!" The Staff Sergeant replied.

"Okay... now then... who the hell is our designated marksman?"

"I'll gladly be your marksman, sir!" Spoke up a woman as he turned his head to see her with a M39 EMR strapped to her chest. "Lance Corporal Elena Bradley reporting for duty!" She announced with a salute.

"I guess you just arrived here?" Elena nodded. "Welcome to the party Lance Corporal. Now that's taken care of, Cyberdramon might I ask why you have a SMAW strapped on you?"

The marines around him started to chuckle, so was he, before responding:

"I was thinking that maybe some extra firepower would be nice."

"Fine, just make sure you shoot at the right person."

Once he was over with the list, he puts down his clipboard and looked at his platoon.

"As you may have heard, we're going on a deep recon mission. We should be out there for at least a few weeks. Remember to be friendly in front of civilians and win their hearts and minds. We'll be all going in this mission with the guidance of our newest member: Weregarurumon. She is considered as a civilian and should be treated as such, meaning sacrificing your life for hers is included. If you're not happy with that, then you can get the fuck out of my platoon. As for the others, let's go on a field trip."

"Oorah!" They all shouted.

Hours has passed and the marines of Recon team 4 hadn't found a single settlement nor anything special to report. There were some few oddities here and there but they were considered normal to the digimon.

"Am I the only one who thinks that this feels like Afghanistan but with grass and digimons?" Asked the driver of the lead vehicle, PFC. Larry Brook.

"Nope, was thinking about the same thing." Stephen replied, who is sitting next the driver.

"How so?" Asked Cyberdramon on the back seat of the MRAP.

"Driving on a dirt road, no enemy contact for hours and probably a village in the middle of nowhere."

"That's it?"

"Well consider yourself lucky that we're fighting a conventional army, at least we don't need to be in constant alert because there might be an IED somewhere, ready to blow you in pieces or being ambush by terrorists from miles away, hiding behind the civilians." Stephen replied as a matter-of-factly.

"So you were fighting cowards?" Asked Flamedramon curiously.

"Fanatical cowards. These guys are the infamous parasites of Earth. You take one head off, two more will take his place. They're seriously a pain in the-"

"Turn to your right and there should be a small village near the woods." Informed Weregarurumon, interrupting Stephen's speech.

"You heard her, Larry." He said.

Some moments later and the convoy stopped infront of a small wooden village. It was surrounded by wooden palisades. At the village's entrance gate, was a wooden sign with the words:

-Welcome to Little Dawn village!-

-Pop: 56-

Stephen observed the village through the vehicle's windshield to see there wasn't any presence of civilians.

"Place looks empty." He noted before grabbing his M4A1 and exited the vehicle. "First squad on me! The rest of you watch our surroundings. Weregarurumon, Flamedramon with me also." He ordered through his radio and walked into the village. "Remember to smile and be friendly. Win their hearts and minds." He added.

The first civilian they encountered was a small cat-like digimon who just screamed and ran away from them.

"I don't know why, but I somewhat feel offended by that." Commented a Marine.

"Maybe it's their first time they see a human?" Hypothesized Brook.

"I think it's more of Cyberdramon they're scared of." The entire squad looked at the mentionned digimon.

"Hey! Why are you all staring at me?" Cyberdramon asked frantically and blushed in embarrassment.

The 8 men team continued further in the village until they arrived at what they supposed was the village center. Suddenly, they heard something running and laughing at the corner of their eyes. They then saw a small red digimon, chasing playfully a butterfly. The digimon had 9 feather-like, bright red and blue tipped tails, two long ears with the same features as the tails, blue stripes all over its body and a childish smile. It didn't seem to notice them until it bumped into Stephen. It was a little bit disorientated and then looked up at the marine. It immediately started to back away, fearing him. Stephen simply smiled and took off his helmet and his ballistic eyewear. He knelt down and moved his hand in front of him.

"Hey there little buddy! What's your name?" He greeted cheerfully.

The digimon seemed to be conflicted to wether or not it should trust him.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you or anything. Just want to say hello." He added.

The small digimon then looked up at the Flamedramon standing behind the human. He smiled and gave him a thumbs up.

"E-Elecmon..." It replied shyly.

"Hi Elecmon! My name is Stephen and it's nice to meet you."

"S-Stephen-mon?" It asked confusely.

"No, it's just 'Stephen'. I'm not a digimon, I'm a human." He corrected the child digimon.

Elecmon's scared face was instantly replaced with awe.

"HEY LEOMON! I'M MEETING A HUMAN!" It shouted excitably.

Soon after, a Leomon bursted out of one of the houses near them and ran towards Elecmon and picked it up while smiling nervously and bowed down.

"Hehe... I'm so sorry mister if he bothered you! My little brother can be sometimes clumsy...hehe!" Leomon said sheepishly.

It was kind of weird for the marines to see a bipedal brawny lion being so intimidated by them. Any other human being would probably pale and shit themselves at first sight.

"No, it's fine actually. We thought for awhile this place was abandonned. But where's everybody else?" Asked Stephen.

"Ah yes everybody! Hehe...uh...hiding from you?" Leomon replied nervously.

"There's no need to worry. We're just here to say 'hello', not to conquer this place." Said the lieutenant, trying to comfort the lion.

"Uh? I thought you guys were here to fight the imperials?" Elecmon said puzzled. "I saw you guys beating them to a pulp a week ago, it was... AWESOME!" He added with awe and admiration.

"Then how about you say 'hello' elsewhere?" Asked a feminine voice behind them.

Raymond looked behind him and saw a black and white, bipedal fox who's apperantly glaring at him. The marines just noticed the digimon and jumped in surprise and aimed their rifle at it.

"Put your hands up-" Yelled Staff Sergeant Louis 'Duke' Dukeman but was soon interrupted by Elecmon.

"BlackRenamon!" He yelled joyfully as he jumped from Leomon's arms to the fox's arms, who hugged him gently. "You finally came back!"

"Stand down marines! Might I ask who are you?" Asked Raymond.

"BlackRenamon, I'm the village's guardian."

"And a member of the Dramon Resistance!" Added Elecmon and in return received a slap on the back of his head and a glare from her, probably because he said too much.

"Draconic Resistance huh?" Raymond wondered.

She sighed and then added:

"Yes... I'm also part of the resistance. But I'm just a scout."

"You sure? You look more like an assassin or a ninja to me." Noted sarcastically Flamedramon. "Scared the crap out of me." He added under his breath.

"Now can you please get out of here? Because of you now, there are more imperials coming this way with at least 3 full legions."

Leomon paled and fell unconscious while the marines seemed completely unfazed.

"2nd Lieutenant Stephen Raymond of the 1st 'Digital Marines', Echo company of the United States Marine Corps." Replied Raymond and offered his hand. "Nice to meet you."

Once they're done with the handshake, she looked at WereGarurumon with an amusing smile.

"I see that you've already met another member of the 'Night rose squad'." Everyone stared in disbelief at her, who was now laughing nervously.

"Hehe... surprise?"

"Why didn't you tell us before?" Asked Flamedramon.

"Now hold on a minute! It's not like I know if I should trust you or not. Come on Rena! Back me up here!" Weregarurumon plead.

"Soo... you're not an imperial?" Asked Cyberdramon with uncertainty.

"No, she's just an undercover spy. We're part of the Scout's Corps 'Night rose squad', we're the best there is in the Scout Corps. Weregarurumon is one our best scouts, we sent her undercover in the 54th Legion."

"Wait, I thought Digimon are genderless." Whispered Larry to a Marine, who simply responded with a shrug.

"And how many legions are there?" Asked Dukeman who's beginning to get concerned about their situation.

"I think there's currently 110 legions as we speak."

"I think it's safe to say that they'll be sending us their regulars now." Announced Cyberdramon.

"Talking about the regulars, there's the 33rd Legion coming towards your base, they're just a day march from the closest city, Iarica." She informed them."I can show you guys the way to this city."

"Just get in our vehicle and if you have anything else to share, we would gladly hear you out." Raymond said as the marines begin to move out.

After an entire week of non-stop traveling, Examon finally arrived at Sunset Valley's main city: Iarica. A city-state that governs all of Sunset Valley, it is located between the borders of the United Draconic Coalition, The Dramon Republic and the Wildlands Region. Since the war started, this small city-state remained neutral and didn't want to take part in the conflict since it depended on these regions for economic purposes. But their neutral position didn't last long as it fell in the Imperium's rule shortly after one of its protector, the Dramon Republic fell after months of grueling battles. Successfully cutting them from the UDC, Iarica didn't have any other choice but to surrender. Fortunately for them, the Imperium allowed them to trade with the UDC if they abide the Imperial laws. Thus, Iarica became an important commercial city for the entire Southern Continent.

The Royal Knight managed to get to the bustling city without the Imperials spotting him, eventhough he's a massive digimon. But what was surprising for him was that there was not a single imperial soldier present in the city, just the local law enforcements who didn't really care about the Imperium's strict laws or orders. Because if there were any imperial soldiers, they'll attack and capture him on sight since he's a Royal Knight. He landed in front of the town hall and walked calmly in the building. A few moments later, he knocked on the mayor's office door.

"Please come in!" Answered an old male voice from the office.

Examon entered the office while ducking under the door frame due to his massive size. The spacious oval office was littered with numerous books on the floor as the bookshelves that surrounded the office looked like a mess. Ahead of the dragon was a figure who seems to be deep in thoughts with the book it's currently reading. The figure was covered from head to toe in a robe that only its bright yellow eyes could be seen from it. Behind the faceless figure was a gigantic book, leaned on the wall.

"I see that you're still as messy as ever, Wisemon." He said amusingly.

Wisemon perked up and his eyes were lit up like a christmas tree, if that's even possible.

"Oh! Examon-san! It's been a while since I've seen my most successful student!" He said as he jumped from his office and ran to give Examon a hug.

"Are you seriously going to hug me every time I come here? I mean I visit you every month or two." He reminded to his old professor.

"Ah yes! I forget eveytime! I'm sorry but I'm getting very old lately." Wisemon said while picking a random book and reads it intently.

"79 is not old Wisemon, it's nothing compared with the digimon I work with."

"Yes, yes I'm old and all..." Examon just looked at Wisemon, dumb-founded. He sighed, knowing that his old professor will always be absent-minded.

"Anyways, what brings you here, Examon?"

"I heard that recently the imperials are deploying a lot of soldiers in Sunset Valley, may I ask why?"

"I don't know, maybe they're just training or sending more security further down... Now that I mention security, what happened to the 54th legion that was stationed here? I haven't seen them in days! Do they know that these streets are filled with scum bandits and-"

"I know you're lying" Examon stated with empathy. The old wizard sighed in defeat and frowned.(again, if that's even possible for him)

"So the rumors were true huh? The humans are here. Do you know how many are they? What are their intentions? Can we trust them?" Examon continued to bombard him with questions, worried that their new visitors from the Real World were invading them. Wisemon finally raised his hand which the dragon silenced himself obediently.

"Have you heard of 'the Dramon Resistance'?" The beast Royal Knight nodded.

"They've currently sent two of their best agents in this region and I've been cooperating with them eversince. They would give me regular reports on the imperials' mouvement while I offer them protection by keeping them off the imperials' law enforcements. With that said, I've recently got a report that one of them has been captured by the humans." Examon stared at Wisemon in disbelief.

"Is he alright?" He asked worriedly.

"'She', Examon and I hope yes. They didn't executed her on the spot when she was caught so all we can do is pray for her safety."

Examon frowned as the current situation of the Royal Knights gets even more complicated. Not only they were understaffed and their headquarter's region is being surrounded by imperial forces but now they need to worry about an unknown force from the Real World. Questions upon questions started to pile in, with no clear answers.

"What do you think we should do?"

"Well-"

However, Wisemon was interrupted when they both heard rapid footsteps outside the office.

"SENSEI!" Yelled a Wizardmon as it bursted violently through the wooden doors.

"Ah... Wizardmon-sama! What brings you here my apprentice?" Wisemon asked calmly.

"Something i-is at o-ur w-west g-gate!" His apprentice said through his heavy breathing. "Oh why d-did I skip P.E in c-college?" He asked loudly to himself.

"What is this 'something'?" Asked Examon. Wizardmon held a finger up, signaling Examon to wait for him to retake his breath.

"I don't know, but there was WereGarurumon-san and 'Rena-senpai coming out of metal boxes and demanding for us to open the gates to...uh, what was their name?" He struggled for a bit until he lit up like a lightbulb, feeling triumphant. "That's it! They were called: 'Marines'!"

"Well speak of the Devil. Shall we greet these 'marines', Examon?" Wisemon asked cheerfully.

"After you, old mon."

"Ah ah! I told you I was old!"

Examon smiled and rolled his eyes but soon frowned as he will finally meet face-to-face these newly called 'marines'.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

The Battle of Iarica (part 1)

It was only an hour of drive for the marines of recon team 4 to arrive at Iarica. Now it has been 20 minutes that they waited for the gates to open. WereGarurumon and BlackRenamon were talking to eachother casually outside of the convoy while the marines waited patiently in the vehicles.

"You think they set us up?" Asked Larry nonchalantly.

"It's a possibility." Replied Raymond with bored tone.

"Are you gonna check what's up with them?"

"Since when are you the commanding officer?" Raymond asked sarcastically.

Larry just shrugged with a blank face.

"I'm gonna take some fresh air. Stay here."

The lieutenant inspected his rifle before stepping out of the Cougar MRAP and walked up to the two digimon chatting in front of the convoy. They both noticed him and stopped their conversation.

"What seems be the hold up?" Asked the marine officer.

"We don't know... usually it takes them at the very least five minutes to open the gates to travellers and important visitors but this is indeed unusual of them." WereGarurumon told him.

"You think that the imperials are still in there?"

"I'm positive that there are no imperials in this city, the last ones who were stationed here were the ones that you guys obliterated." She replied.

Stephen's radio soon sparked with life.

" _Lieutenant! We've got a massive dragon coming in our direction!"_ Reported Dukeman urgently.

As soon as the sergeant told him, an immense shadow covered the lieutenant and the two scouts. Suddenly, dust covered them, obscuring their vision and then a large ' _thump_ ' sound could be heard near them. Once the dust died down, Raymond saw a massive bipedal dragon in front of him. It towered over him, easily measuring 8 meters tall or more. Its abdomen was covered in some sort of metal material, the same for its gigantic wings. On its right arm was a huge lance-like weaponry. It looked like as if it came out of a fantasy book. With instincts, Raymond drew his weapon and aimed at the digimon, the other marines soon came out of their vehicles and were barking orders, the LAV and the APC droved to the sides of the convoy and pointed their heavy weapons at the digimon. For once, the marines were a little bit terrified, knowing that if the creature attacked them: they would be finished.

"WAIT! HOLD YOUR FIRE!" Yelled BlackRenamon.

The marines looked at the black vixen confusely. A clothed figure jumped down from the dragon and gasped cheerfully when it saw the two scouts digimon.

"Ah! WereGarurumon! I'm so happy that you're okay! You had us worried sick for a moment!" It exclaimed.

"Who the hell is this?" Asked the lieutenant at BlackRenamon.

"That's Wisemon. He's the mayor of Iarica and a master sorcerer." She replied bluntly.

"Marines, stand down!" He ordered to his men.

"Hey Wisemon! It's been awhile. Care to tell us why there's a Royal Knight here?" Asked the commando wolf.

"Huh? Ah yes! Well Examon was actually looking for them." He answered as he points at Raymond. He then walked towards him and looked at him as if he was an oddity.

"My, my... these humans sure are weird." He noted to himself out loud.

"Um... sir? I would like you step back for a moment." Stephen asked as kindly as possible.

"Sorry? Ah of course! Where are my manners? I'm Wisemon, mayor of the Sunset Valley's capital, Iarica." He greeted and offered his hand to the marine.

"2nd Lieutenant Stephen Raymond of the 1st 'Digital Marines' of the USMC." Stephen told him and shook his hand.

"USMC?"

"United States Marine Corps."

"Never heard of it." He said dismissively. "Well Examon, I hope you find what you're looking for. I'm gonna take a small snack break." He told Examon before going to a vending machine just outside the gates.

The Royal Knight and the marines looked at eachother in an awkward silence.

"You came looking for us huh?" Wondered Stephen loudly, prompting the marines to draw slowly their weapons back at Examon.

"Indeed I did. I was sent here because the Royal Knights need your help, we need your help in this conflict." Examon stated.

"Yeah we know." Said Stephen bluntly and ordered his men to stand down once again.

"You do?" Examon asked confusely.

"Those fuckers invaded us and massacred thousands of civilians, we're here to make them pay the price." He stated sternly. "But since we're kinda underpowered and probably outnumbered, any help we could get is welcomed... well for me. I need to report this to my higher ups if you want us to cooperate with you." He added sheepishly.

"Numbers is what we're just looking for. Our Strike and Defense forces are understaffed to deal with this kind of threat." Examon was feeling more relieved that they were able to be cooperative quite easily.

"However, how many soldiers should we expect from you?" He asked, hoping that their numbers would compensate against the Imperium's army.

"I think we'll be at least 64 700 men at the end of this first year, 15 000 by next month."

"First year?" Something seems wrong for the Royal Knight.

"We'll be here for at least 5 years. Not only are we here to make them pay, we're also here to liberate the DigiWorld, one Continent at a time."

"You would?" Now Examon was genuinely surprised that the humans would take such a difficult but noble task without the Royal Knights needing to ask them. "So are we considered allies then?" He asked just make to sure he wasn't dreaming and this is real.

"With us: yes. Under two conditions: we're allowed to establish military bases across the DigiWorld and that we're allowed to operate freely if the Imperium or the security of the digimon is involved." Stephen declared diplomatically.

"I'll see what I can do. Now-"

"No, no. These terms should be discussed with both ours and your higher ups, in our base of operation. I know its picky and annoying but I'm just a grunt compared to them, I don't make the rules." He informed Examon while rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Understandable. I'll tell the other knights. Expect us in a week or two."

"Now with that out of the way, Wisemon sir, are we allowed to enter and stay in Iarica for a few days?" Raymond asked to the faceless wizard, who appeared to have just finished his chocolate bar and can of soda.

"Sorry? Ah yes! Open the gates for these fine gentlemen, boys!"

The two guardromon hastilly opened the gigantic wooden doors and made way to the side to let the vehicles and the marines who were on foot in the city.

Meanwhile, in the thick forest located only a few hundred meters away from the west gate, there was a Sealsdramon observing the whole scene with binoculars. Once the marines as entered the city, he quickly got up and ran back towards his camp. A couple minutes of running later, he arrived at the established military camp and headed to his officer's tent.

"Sealsdramon 2583 reporting in, Darkdramon sir!" He stood straight at the attention of his commanding officer and saluted.

"At ease trooper." The cyborg digimon told him after returning the salute. "Status report."

"I've spotted what seems to be a recon team of humans entering Iarica's west gate. It appears that there's also a Royal Knight helping them, sir!"

"So it seems that Wisemon has betrayed us right under our noses. I knew that we should've taken him out when we had the chance. Well at least it gives us the excuse now." He said while contemplating the map of the local region. "How many humans are there?"

"At least 40, maybe more, sir!"

"Gather all team leaders in here and tell everybody to prepare themselves for combat." Darkddramon ordered.

"Yes sir!" Replied the Sealsdramon before saluting and exiting the tent.

"Lets see how these humans fare against real soldiers."

Although reluctant and paranoid at first, the local law enforcements allowed the Marines to stay in one of their garrissons near the western gate. As the night sets upon the city of Iarica, and with nothing to do, some Marines decided to sleep in the barracks while others play with their digimon comrades at card games in the mess hall. However, Stephen was not having fun as he types the report in his laptop tirelessly. He stopped and stared at his screen for a full minute before sighing in frustration. He hated writing reports.

"You seem to have a fun time, Lieutenant." Said Cyberdramon sarcastically.

"Yup, writing reports and such is sure is fun, wanna take my place?" He told him with the same attitude.

"Care to join for a game of poker sir?" Asked Flamedramon as he shuffles the cards.

Raymond looked at the digimon sergeant and at the five other Marines before finally deciding it was time to take a break from the hour long report.

"Yeah, why the hell not!"

The Marines cheered as he takes a seat at their table and Flamedramon starts to distribute them the cards. But their fun didn't last long because ten minutes later, PFC. James Blackburn ran in the mess hall in full combat gear and with his M16A4 rifle.

"Sir! Imperial forces are coming this way!" He reported hurriedly, forgeting to salute his superior officer.

"How?" Raymond asked worriedly.

"The guards just let them through and they got executed. There's at least thirty or more hostiles!" Blackburn replied.

"Shit! Marines get your gear ready up and prepare defensive positions at the garrison's entrance! Tell the others to wake the fuck up and someone alert the mayor or the royal knight of our current situation! Blithe, take your radio and come with me! Let's go Marines!" The lieutenant and the other NCOs started to bark orders as the Marines ran frantically to get their combat gear and weapon.

Moments later, the Marines were all gather up at the front courtyard of the garrison with the Stryker and LAV-25 operational. They took positions on the garrison's battlements and waited for their visitors to meet them. Meanwhile, the law enforcements of the garrisson were disorganized and in disarray and tried to gather themselves up to defend the barracks.

Stephen was feeling nervous since he couldn't use the mortars to avoid unnecessary civilian casualties and destruction. All he can do is to rely on his Marines and time itself. He walked over to Cyberdramon and took his SMAW.

"We're gonna need this soon." He informed the cyborg dragon and walked back to his position.

"Dukeman, do you still have those flares?" He asked the Staff Sergeant.

"Yes sir." He replied quietly.

"Good, keep those for our reinforcements."

"When are they going to come here sir?"

"Sadly, in two hours. We just need to hold them off. Let's hope that their aim is as bad as the bad guys in the movies."

'Duke' snickered before aiming his M4A1 at the silent streets of Iarica. Strangely enough, the local population was still asleep, unaware of the incoming battle. But that will soon change. Through his ACOG sight, Raymond could see Troopmon, Commandramon and a few Sealsdramon carefully advancing to their positions.

"On my mark, I want the gates opened so we could let our APC and LAV to light them up. Give them hell Devil Dogs." He told them silently through his radio.

When the advancing imperials exposed themselves to the street lamposts, he fired once. The loud gunfire was soon followed with the sound of a head exploding, blood splatter and burst of data of a Sealsdramon. The rest of the imperials proned on the ground and returned fire but their numbers started to decrease once the gates of the garrison opened up, letting the the two heavily armed vehicles to unleash hell and fury at them. The Marines opened fired soon after, the battlements filled with the sound of gunfire and bullet casings dropping down on the wood planks and stone streets. The town awoke with fright as the civilians near the battle fled for safety.

Eventhough the imperials were taking heavy casualties, their numbers kept rising as the rest of the legion is now aware of the Marines' location. They use the rubbles from some of the partially destroyed buildings as cover. For now, the U.S marines have the advantage due to their superior firepower and cover but that was about to change when they saw a Tankmon

approaching eagerly towards them.

"Holy shit! Lieutenant! You better use that SMAW now!" Shouted Larry as he prepares an AT-4.

"On it!" Raymond yelled back.

The Tankmon was only a few meters away from them as it pinned most of the marines down as it unload mercilessly storm after storm of bullets. But through the intense suppression, Stephen still manages to bring up the anti-armour rocket launcher over the battlements and aims at the living tank.

"Check backblast." He announced loudly.

"Clear!" They all yelled.

On cue, he pulled the trigger, the multi-purpose weapon launching the 83.5 mm warhead at the tankmon. The rocket travelled to the streets and went straight for the imperial's tank. The warhead exploded in a fiery spectacle as soon as it made contact with the tankmon, the living vehicle cried in agony before bursting in data. The invaders were shocked that their heavy armour was easily taken out by a single rocket. The lost of a tankmon didn't stop the attack, as more and more imperial soldiers starts to pour in the city, with the support of two more tankmon.

"Ah shit! Motherfuckers have two more of those!" Yelled Dukeman.

"We're gonna make a push boys! I want those MRAPs running and gunners on the .50 cals!" He ordered his men. "Cyberdramon, surppress those bastards while we get those vehicles out!"

At that order, Cyberdramon smiled broadly. "Leave them to me Lieutenant! Or else it wouldn't be fair."

The Stryker and the LAV-25 rushed outside the garrison, stopping at one side so they could let the MRAPs go out. 105 mm, 7.62 mm, 12.7 mm, 5.56 mm and 25 mm were unloaded to the enemy. This sudden course of action took the imperials off guard as they began to retreat little by little, the same could be said for their morale.

But the marines push was halted when a tankmon opened fire at the battlements. The warhead missed the Stryker but it instead hit the battlements above the APC.

Cyberdramon and a marine were thrown off the other side of the wall and dropped violently on the hard stone pavement. The digimon looked around him dizzingly and sat up. He didn't know why but all he could hear were bells ringing and nothing else. He then looked at himself to see if there were any serious injuries. Hopefully for him, there was only a few cuts here and there. Unfortunately for the other marine beside him, he didn't make it as he was the one who took most of the blast.

"I'm so sorry..." The digimon whispered to his fallen comrade before picking up his light machine gun and got back to the fight.

The tankmon was now harrassing the marines as it practically shoots at everything, disregarding the civilian infrastuctures and population. While they were distracted with their heavy armour, the imperial infantry platoons were flanking the humans' positions. Recon team 4 was now under fire from three different direction and now taking casualties.

The wounded soldier yelled in pain while Stephen and Ramirez were dragging him further back in the garrison, Bradley was taking out as many hostiles as she could but she was bound to run out of ammo for her primary weapon. What suppose to be a month supply of ammunition, a half was already spent in the span of one hour.

"For fuck sake! Where's the royal knight?" Exclaimed Flamedramon.

He continued to fire until he heard a click on his rifle, signaling him that his weapon was empty. He crouched down and quickly took out the spent magazine and reloaded his M16A4 with a new magazine. Contrary to their human counterpart, the digimons are more resilient to projectiles and so, the imperial foot soldiers needed at least four to five shots to take them out, for the ones that were considered not resilient by digimon standards.

Flamedramon took out multiple hostiles in rapid succession without leaving his eye from the ACOG sight, until he saw the tankmon aiming straight at him. He was about to ran and dive for cover when all of the sudden the tankmon exploded and bursted in to a cloud of data.

He then heard the cheers of the local law enforcements and looked up at what they were cheering at. Up in the sky, he could see the massive figure of Examon as he fires upon the imperial forces, raining high explosives rounds at them.

"It's about fucking time he shows up!" Blackburn said angrily.

Stephen looked up at the sky and saw Examon sniping down the heavy elements of the 33rd Legion.

"Alright boys! Looks like our air support just arrived. Make sure you give those fuckers hell." He ordered at his platoon through the radio.

After taking the three other tankmon, the Royal Knight flew down to the garrison and landed near the marines.

"Sorry for being late lieutenant. Wisemon, the scouts and I had a few run-ins with some imperials." The dragon informed that whilst taking pop shots at the hostiles.

"Where are they then?" Asked Stephen.

"Wisemon and his bodyguards are still battling the imperials at the town center, and the scouts are currently taking out they're rear guard."

"Can we expect some reinforcements?"

"The Resistance are sending a small task force and they'll be here soon. How about you?"

"Expect lots of marines and two tank squadrons..." Stephen replied and then threw a grenade at a pocket of hostiles only a few meters away from them. "Marines! Protect our vehicles and stand your ground until reinforcements arrive!" He ordered at his platoon loudly.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

The Battle of Iarica (part 2)

As time passed by, the battle grew fiercer and marines were taking wounded rapidly. The Resistance managed to get in the city but were immediately cut off by imperial forces. Eventhough the marines have superior firepower thanks to Examon's help, it wasn't enough to halt the enemy advancement.

"Jesus Christ! These guys don't know how to quit!" Groaned Dukeman.

"Either they have the numbers or they're incredibly stupid. Let's hope the latter." Raymond said with humour.

"How long until our reinforcement arrives?" Asked Cyberdramon as he lay down a storm of lead, taking down multiple Commandramon.

"Soon, eventually..." He replied.

What was once a peaceful city turned into an intense urban warfare. Tracers and shells filled the streets. Parts of Iarica were filled with pockets of melee combat from law enforcements and local mercenaries, fighting off the imperial soldiers either to protect the city or out of hatred for the Imperium.

"FRAG OUT!" Yelled Bradley before she threw out a grenade.

"Let's go marines! Let them eat lead!" Shouted Dukeman to encourage the platoon.

The west gate's garrison is probably the most destroyed building during the entire battle.

Marines and Imperials clash with one another, both determined to annihilate the other. While the marines held their grounds, the imperials charged towards them in disregard of their own losses and little by little, they got closer and closer, those who had fallen in battle were soon replaced by another and in the end, outnumbering and outgunning the marines. Recon team 4, the two scout operatives, Examon and only a small handful of the law enforcements had to retreat inside the garrison, behind the almost destroyed walls. Even the vehicles barely made it in, losing in the process one MRAP and two of its passengers.

"They've breached through our perimeters!" Shouted a marine as Commandramon climbed over the battlements.

The marines opened fire from their position on the courtyard, only a few meters away from the battlements. Stephen charged towards a Commandramon and stabbed it straight through its heart with his bayonet. Once it dissolved into data, he immediately shot two others before using his bayonet to kill a fourth one. He took a fragmentation grenade and threw over the other side of the wall, an explosion could be heard shortly after with a cloud of data dispersing in the air and the screams of those wounded by the explosive. Other marines began to throw grenades at the imperials, taking out dozens of them and injuring even more, but it wasn't enough to stop the assault.

Examon's rain of death with his H.E shells did devastating damage to the hostiles, taking out mostly their leaders and heavy support to demoralize them. The digimon fought in melee, easily deleting the already tired and damaged imperials while the humans shoot down the rest who managed to avoid melee combat, ending them with a swift death.

All of the sudden, in the disorienting chaos in the garrison's courtyard, the digimon heard something unusual to them. Dust and wind started to kick up as the sounds came closer and louder.

" _The devil dogs are here to kick some ass."_ Told the pilot of a Bell AH-1Z Viper to Raymond through the radio.

It was at that moment that multiple rains of bullets and missiles plummeted the imperial forces outside of the garrison, wiping out the last remaining others in a minute, cutting off the ones in the courtyard from getting any support. The marines cheered as they charged towards the remaining legionnaires who were beginning to fall back, none of them managed to escape their inevitable doom.

Soon after, marines started to pour down from Bell UH-1 Venoms, scattered all over the city. Outside Iarica, near the forest, a battle waged with the weakened and helpless imperial soldiers against powerful and mighty squadrons of M1 Abrams tanks, unleashing H.E shells and storms of .50 caliber rounds at the enemy and later their camp was destroyed.

Meanwhile near the town hall, Darkdramon and the remaining of his soldiers were fighting off the mercenaries and law enforcements, trying to retreat before the humans could cut them off. As the Commander looked around through the chaotic battle, he could see helicopters dropping marines around them, the main force now on the ground and little time for the legionnaires to fall back. The cyborg digimon swore under his breath and ordered loudly at his soldiers:

"Fall back! For the Emperor's sake, fall back!"

The remains of the 33rd Legion were scattered all over Iarica, either fleeing desperately or fighting to the last. The marines of Recon team 4 took a break shortly after their reinforcements arrived, relieved that they could live to fight another day. The marines chased down the imperials and 10 minutes later they surrendered, others died fighting.

Alas, the battle of Iarica was over, lasting 4 hours. As a result:

23 marines were killed and 37 were wounded

At least 98 imperials were killed, only 10 were captured

And there's an estimate of 45 civilians or law enforcements killed.

Raymond sat down and laid his back on one of the stone columns of the town hall and took off his helmet. The rest of his platoon were resting infront on the town hall's marble stairs, sleeping or smoking, letting the time pass by.

Suddenly, they heard a helicopter land near them and they saw two marines coming out of it. The Colonel and their company commander, Captain Roland Richards, marched up the stairs, saluting the marines of Recon team 4 and headed towards Lieutenant Raymond. The lieutenant stood up and saluted his two superior officers.

"At ease, Lieutenant." The captain told him and Stephen relaxed.

"Hell of a fight you put up last night, Lieutenant." The Colonel told him, noticing his combat uniform covered in ash and dirt. "And I'm quite impress that your platoon is still intact after all this, although I'm sorry for the loss of four of your marines." He added.

"Thank you sir." Raymond just said.

Eversman coughed before continuing:

"As you may know, we're canceling all recon missions and you're all reported back to your company. I also want to tell you the news that the JSDF and the 3rd Infantry Division have finally arrived along with the rest of our marines. I've also heard that you've made contact with a resistance group and a member of the... Royal Knights, who wanted to negociate with us, am I correct?"

"Correct, sir. There's also the fact that two more Imperial legions are coming this way in two days." Raymond added.

"That's where we come in. Echo company and Bravo company will take defensive positions in this town with the tanks from the 2nd Armored division. Meanwhile, the Royal Knights and the leaders of the resistance group will take the negociations in our FOB." Informed Captain Richards.

"What about the civilians ?" Asked Raymond.

"The local law enforcements will evacuate them futher deep in Iarica, away from the fighting."

"Alright gents', I'll leave you two to the defense of this city. I want you to defend this city at all cost." The lieutenant and the captain saluted before the colonel walked back to his helicopter.

Once the colonel was gone, Richards punched lightly Raymond's left shoulder.

"Jesus Christ! I thought you died back there!" Raymond chuckled before Richards put his arm around him and guided him downstairs.

"Good to see you too, Roland."

"Two hours against an entire legion with only 40 men, you guys must have the biggest balls in the whole company." He added before they were greeted by the officer of Bravo company for a combat briefing.

Night came once again in Iarica, most of its townspeople were evacuated due to the previous fighting. There were some lit houses on some parts of the city but one thing remains a fact: the western district is completely abandonned. No lights, no digimon wandering around, no life, only darkness and eerie silence filled the empty streets of the western district.

Master Sergeant Wolfmon observed through his binoculars the heavily damaged western gate and its walls practically destroyed. At least they have an easy access. With no moonlight, the 41st Legion and the small reserve of the 33rd Legion have the element of surprise and their combined numbers was enough to take an entire city. Wolfmon's company was at the head of the assault, most of the soldiers were laying down on the grassy plains, the tall foliage covering most of their features. As he continues to scan the area, Corporal Yaksamon crawled next to his NCO.

"Any signs of the enemy, sir?" He whispered.

"Nope... seems like the town is empty..."

"All units! Prepare for the assault! We'll go on my signal!" Ordered quietly Captain Pajiramon behind them.

"Yes ma'am!" They both replied in a low voice.

"Shit... I don't like the looks of this." Grumbled Wolfmon.

"What do you mean, sir?" Asked the corporal.

"Something doesn't seems right... How can the 33rd Legion be destroyed in only a few hours and then these humans just left the town abandonned." He replied with skepticism in his voice.

"So?"

"My point corporal is: why didn't we received any reports on civilian casualties? Either they were killed by the humans or... they were evacuated."

"You think they're in the town?"

"... I don't know, I just feel like something's wrong..."

"Keep it together, sir. Maybe it's the adredaline of the upcoming battle, I know I'm thrilled and nervous at the same time. It's been a long time since we get some real action." Yaksamon told him, trying to encourage his sergeant or else he'll be executed for cowardice.

"I guess you're right." Agreed Wolfmon. "It's been a while since we're finally fighting a worthy opponent that is not a rebel group." He added while smiling at his subordinate, feeling a little better but not quite convinced.

"That's the spirit, sir." Yaksamon cheered up quietly before he looked back at the western gate, preparing himself for the assault.

The imperials waited nervously for the attack order, each second passing felt like an hour.

The eerie silence making them even more impatient as the wind breezes lazily on the grassy plains.

Pajiramon stood up and was about to give out the assault order when all of the sudden they heard loud noises coming from the western gate. They then looked up the sky once they heard deafening whistles coming from above and, in an instant, the ground erupted in multiple fiery explosions, deleting dozens amongst their ranks. Shortly after, they heard the same noises as it increases in speed.

"CHARGE!" Yelled a digimon officer before being deleted by an explosion.

The soldiers stood up and sprinted towards the western gates with an epic and roaring warcry. Eventhough they were losing troops left and right, they continued their charge fearlessly. However, soon after they began the charge, Wolfmon saw small flashes light up in the western gates from the darkness, followed by hails of bullets and shells coming straight at them.

Taken off guard, Wolfmon instinctly dived on the ground, avoiding tracers above his head.

He looked behind as he watches in horror his soldiers deleted or dropping down and crying out in pain. He didn't know that the humans' weapons could be this devastating. Either that or they're extremely accurate with their weapons. Wolfmon didn't have time to ponder as the companies were pinned down, halting the assault.

Wolfmon swore under his breath for his sudden cowardice while his soldiers were getting deleted rapidly. A few seconds later, he recovered from his fears and got back up to charge at their enemy.

"COME ON! MOVE FORWARD! LET'S GO! GO! GO!" He barked loudly as he passes by the soldiers on the ground.

His sudden move was enough to muster the strenght for the imperials and followed him.

The sergeant continued valiantly towards his objective, ignoring the bullets whizzing by or the explosions near him. He ran and ran, dodging everything on his path and when he was close to the walls, he saw a small round object that landed infront of him. He looked at it curiously, he picked it up. Suddenly his vision was filled with darkness while hearing deafening bells ringing in his ears.

"AH SHIT! INCOMING HOSTILE CAVALRY!" Yelled Captain Richards as a large group of KnightChessmon charges towards them at a rapid pace. "Take those knights out!"

The marines concentrated all their firepower on the incoming cavalry, only managing to take out a small number of them. In retaliation, the KnightChessmon threw their gigantic darts in unison, showering the marines.

"Take cover!" Shouted a marine before been strucked by a dart.

Marines and vehicles were been hit by the massive rain of darts, destroying LAVs and tanks and killing multiple soldiers. Raymond barely avoided a dart as it planted violently on the stone street. In the aftermath of the devastating attack, officers and non-commissioned officers barked orders at the grunts, trying to regroup and rally up the defenses.

"QUEEN STAMP!" Shouted a feminine voice on the other side of the battlefield.

Raymond looked pass the battlements to see the once retreating infantry charge back at them, all in a roaring warcry. Ahead of them were multiple black and white pyramid formations consisting only of small knight-like digimon, bucklers held up and spears pointed at them. Bullets, shells and missiles flew towards the advancing formations only to be easily deflected, harming not a single digimon.

"Get those mortars fire behind their ranks! Marines, kill anyone behind those formations! We need artillery and air support to bomb those fuckers to hell!" Barked Raymond as if he was the commander of the entire company.

Suprisingly, the whole company complied to his orders without question. Radio operators started to communicate with JSDF artillery units and Marine Vipers, giving them coordinates to where to strike. Regaining their flow of firepower, the advancing formations slowed down their paces, having a hard time to deflect the showers and rains of projectiles. The attack helicopters spew out 20mm rounds and 70mm rockets then followed by 155mm shells coming from the JSDF artillery located a few kilometers away from the city, effectively decimating the Imperials' advance and breaking their morale.

"Damn these humans to the Dark Area!" Said angrily the 41st Legion Commander, QueenChessmon. "Send out the meatshields!" She barked at her subordinates.

"Um... who, your majesty?" Asked a Knightmon, unsure of what she meant by 'meatshield'.

"The bloody Troopmon units, you tin can for brains!" She replied violently and gave the knight a death glare.

The officer saluted her shakingly, problably paling under his armour, and gave out the order.

"Tau company! Move out and strike down our enemy relentlessly!"

Soon after the order was given, rows upon rows of Troopmon emerged from the forest and charged through the battlefield. Bayonets fixed on their assault rifles, the undead digimon charged silently. No warcry could be heard from them, only the sound of steam releasing from their skull face gas masks filled their silence. They dropped one by one, taking the full brunt of the marines' firepower. Not a single cry of agony came from their fallen as the humans pour everything at the somewhat endless waves of Troopmon. Following behind the mass of fearless troopers was Knightmon as their commanding officer. He draws out his greatsword and raises his left hand, signaling the entire death company to a halt.

"1st and 2nd platoon in line!" He ordered loudly, completely ignoring the shells exploding around him and the small arms rounds bouncing off of his heavyweight Chrome Digizoid armour. The Troopmon in question formed a long line, the first platoon taking a knee while the second platoon stood behind them.

"Take aim!" Ordered their officer before they all calmly took aim at their targets.

"First rank, FIRE!" The Troopmon platoon opened fire, releasing multiple hails of projectiles at the marines until their magazines were empty. "Second rank, FIRE!" The second rank soon opened fire, leaving the marines no room to fight back and taking in more casualties. "Onwards lads! CHARGE!" Yelled Knightmon as the death company charged at their enemies with their bayonets facing them.

"Someone take out that Knightmon!" Ordered Richards as he opened fire at the incoming wave of digimon.

"Fix bayonets, gentlemen! Prepare to defend yourselves!" Yelled Raymond at his platoon as he fixes his bayonet at the end of his rifle. "Don't let those bastards pass us, oorah?".

"OORAH!" Shouted the company in unison.

Meanwhile on the battlements, Cyberdramon continuously fires at the incoming Troopmon with his trusty M240B. Cases and ammo boxes littered around him, meaning that he had been firing his machine gun non-stop, until he heard the dreadful sound.

* _click, click_ *

He swore under his breath and looked around him hurriedly for any spare ammo boxes.

" _How the fuck did I managed to waste 2 months supply of ammo?"_ He thought to himself angrily while still searching, by any chance, an ammo box.

Unbeknownst to him, a Troopmon managed to climb over the battlements and started to bayonet charge towards the cyborg digimon.

"LOOK OUT!" Warned a marine before firing two rounds at the undead trooper.

When Cyberdramon turned around, he saw the Troopmon fall down dead and burst into data. He was about to thank his savior until he saw another Troopmon making a run towards the marine. Cyberdramon was about to vault over the marine and pushed him aside of harm's way but he didn't have enough time to react as the blade struck the marine in the back. The digimon pulled out the blade and bashed the young marine violently at the back of his head with its rifle's buttstock. Once the body dropped, the undead digimon had its throat cut in a blink of an eye by Cyberdramon's claws. It held its throat as it bled black liquid profusely before dropping dead and turning into a cloud of data. The cyborg was about to pick up a M16A4 rifle on the ground until he noticed that five more Troopmon climb over the battlements and were now facing him. He smiled at them smugly before taking a combat stance.

Raymond emptied his mag at the pouring Imperials before stabbing a Troopmon and wiped out his sidearm to take out two others. Another Troopmon jumped on him, taking him off guard and was about to strike its combat knife straight into his skull when Raymond barely grab hold of the knife and two soldiers were struggling to get control on the weapon. The blade inches slowly towards the lieutenant's right eye. He was using all of his strenght to push back.

Suddenly, the digimon took a shot through its head, its lifeless body and the knife dropping next to Raymond. The marine let out a relief sigh and looked at the person who saved him, rather it was a digimon. It was a bipedal fox-like digimon that looked like BlackRenamon but its fur was yellow instead of black. It lend out a paw while the other was holding its M40A5 sniper rifle. He grabbed its paw as it pulled him off the ground.

"Thanks for saving me, I owe you one, Re-"

"Save your breath, Stephen." Interrupted the feminine digimon hurriedly.

Although a little offended by the way she talked back, he simply nodded and putted another magazine in his rifle while Renamon calmly picked off imperial soldiers with her sniper rifle. He spotted a small group of Troopmon trying to sneak up behind the vixen. He shot two of them before charging at a third one. Her attention now at the four others, the imperials hurriedly charged at her. She deflected one bayonet with her rifle then bashed with extreme force at the second's head with the buttstock, after she uses her rifle like a baseball bat and swung at the third one effectively destroying its gas mask and kicked at the fourth one, who immediately died by the sheer force of the kick. She then turned around to see the last one aiming its rifle at her before being shot three times to the chest by lieutenant Raymond.

"Now we're even, corporal." Commented the officer.

She simply chuckled before responding at him: "It seems so."

"Fall back! For God's sake, fall back!" Ordered Captain Richards as the marines started to retreat futher in the town with the APCs and tanks laying cover fire for them.

Snipers and marksmen were nested in some of the abandonned buildings while the rest of the marines took cover behind the sandbangs installed a couple hundred meters away from the ramparts, giving them good cover and an 180° firing line.

"Sir, Airstrike's inbound 10 mikes!" Yelled a radio operator to Richards.

"Roger that! Come on boys, keep the fire flowing!" Shouted the captain. "Allen! I want the JSDF to blast them to hell!"

"Yes sir!" Responded Corporal James Allen as he gives coordinates to their newly arrived air support, the JASDF.

 _F.O.B. Ginza._

" _Hunter 1, ready!"_

" _Hunter 2, ready!"_

"Hunter 3, ready!" replied 2nd Lieutenant Yuki Inaho, pilot of the Mitsubishi F-2 fighter jet, callsign Hunter 3.

Inaho, like any JSDF soldier, was impatient to prove himself in combat, 5 years in the military and it took an "alien" invasion force to finally give the JSDF a reason to go in combat. He waited all his life to show his american counterparts that the JSDF can take care of themselves without their help. Although he still appreciates that U.S. Forces are coming with them.

" _All hunters are ready, mission is a go. I repeat, mission is go. Good luck and happy hunting."_


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Knights and Soldiers

"Listen up, men! As we speak, there are currently 300 marines holding off an army twice their size. Our air force and artillery are doing a good job at taking out a huge chunk of them but the americans need more manpower. This is where you all come in, Bravo and Delta company, can I expect you to aid them and successfully defend the town of Iarica?" Asked Lieutenant General Kouichirou Hazama as he gazes at the officers standing at his attention.

"SIR, YES SIR!" They all replied in unison.

With their combat gear on and their weapons at the ready, the JSDF soldiers of Br avo and Delta company got out of the F.O.B.'s hangar and went in their designated transport helicopters, the famous Boeing CH-47 Chinook.

1st Lieutenant Yoji Itami took the seat next the rear ramp of the vehicle, sitting next to him was his fellow soldier and otaku friend, sergeant Takeo Kurata. Facing him was none other than Sergeant-Major Souichirou Kuwahara, the oldest and most experienced member of the third Recon team.

As the helicopters started to fly off the airfield of the Forward Operating Base, Itami looked out of the transport's ramp to see the sun slowly rising up behind their hill base. For once, Itami felt relaxed eventhough he's going to enter in a combat zone in a few minutes, he just wanted to forget for a moment all the stressful days that happened these past few months. He took a glance at his friend and noticed that the young sergeant was shaking nervously and breathing in and out deeply, trying to calm himself down. Wanting comfort his friend, he placed a hand on his shoulder and told him loudly:

"Don't worry Kurata! Just follow what Pops says and you'll be fine!"

Kurata snapped back to reality and looked at Itami and nodded.

"I will, thank you sir."

Although the lieutenant seemed calm, it was true that he felt terrified in the inside, not wanting to die like any other soldier but he is an officer and he must show confidence to his fellow soldiers or else morale will break easily for them. However only one member of third recon team seems too excited to go in combat and that's Sergeant 1st class Shino Kuribayashi, the shortest but the most ferocious member of the team. Just as the helicopter lifted off, she already mounted her bayonet to her rifle's barrel while having a sadistic smile on her face. To be honest, Itami doesn't know who he is afraid of the most: a digimon or her. His trace of thoughts was soon interrupted once his radio came to life.

" _All units prepare for combat, ETA 5 minutes. How copy? Over."_

" _This is Combat Team 1, solid copy, over."_

" _Combat Team 2, heard it loud and clear."_

"Solid copy on Recon team 3, over." Responded Itami as the other units started to reply. "Listen up! We'll be in combat zone in less than 5 minutes, once we're deployed, regroup on me and stay close to eachother. Keep your distance from the enemy and stay out of CQC with them, unless you want a quick and painful death sentence. Am I clear?"

"SIR, YES SIR!" They all replied. And as if on cue, their helicopter shook violently as enemy fire erupted near them.

"Alright ladies, hold on tight because it's going to be a bumpy ride." The pilot warned them.

Through his radio, Itami could hear multiple military jargon from the air support, the marines and other JSDF combat units. The metal bird shook again, prompting the soldiers to hold on to their seats as tight as they can. Throughout the rear exit of the chopper, they could see a quarter of the town engulfed in thick black smokes and in ruins. The streets were filled with fierce urban firefights as the U.S. Marines held off what seems to be an endless wave of digimon. To the outskirts of the town, their jets and marine attack helicopters showered the enemy with heavy rounds, rockets, missiles and H.E. Bombs.

" _It's going to be one hell of a morning..."_ Thought Itami as the chinook shook for the fifth time.

"GET THOSE .50 CALS UP AND RUNNING! I WANT THOSE TANKS TO SMOKE THOSE FUCKERS TO HELL!" Yelled Captain Richards as he ducked down on the ground to cover himself from an explosion only a few blocks away.

"Captain! Bravo Company is pulling back!" Reported loudly Cpl. Allen.

"What? Who the hell gave them the damn order?!" The corporal simply shrugged. "Get me Captain Winters now." Richards ordered.

"I can't, there's no signal from him..." Replied Allen hurriedly.

"For fuck's sake... Try again, corporal."

While the captain tries to regroup the marines, Raymond emptied his mag before looking back at where the previous explosion erupted. He swore under his breath before he called his superior officer.

"He's dead." He told him loudly while pointing at the direction of the black smoke where the explosion has previously erupted. Richards put two and two together.

"Goddamnit! Allen, tell Lieutenant Douglas and Chandler to regather their men and hold the left flank! Raymond, I want your platoon to reinforce that flank."

"Roger that, my guys on me!" Ordered Raymond at his platoon as they to move out of their positions.

Once they arrived at their designated area, they could hear rotors of friendly helicopters pass overhead as they set up a defensive position for the newly arrived japanese forces.

"Give those japs some cover fire! Don't let the imperials get near the birds!" Raymond told them as one chinook flew down and landed behind them.

Once the helicopter touched the ground, japanese soldiers started to pour out, their officer directing them where to go. The officer then gave a thumbs up to the pilot before the chinook flew out of the combat zone. The young officer ran towards Raymond and saluted him.

"1st Lieutenant Yoji Itami, commanding officer of recon team 3, ready to give a hand." He said in english with a slight japanese accent.

"Glad to have you on the field, sir." Said Raymond while saluting back at the officer.

"Ah shit! We've got incoming Tankmon to our twelve, 200 meters!" Yelled Dukeman as the marines concentrated their fire towards the living tank.

"Sergeant Tomita, get the Panzerfaust and take out that tank!" Ordered Itami at Sergeant 1st class Akira Tomita.

"Yes sir!" He replied loudly before taking the Nissan 110mm LAM on his back and placed it on his shoulder. He pulled out the rod at the tip of the launcher and aimed at the tankmon through the scope.

"Checking backblast!"

"CLEAR!" Everyone, including the marines, replied.

"Fire in the hole!" He shouted as he pulled the trigger.

The warhead shot out of the launcher and went straight through the heavily armored tankmon, detonating inside the digimon. The Tankmon erupted in a fiery explosion as it bursts into data particles and the explosion killing a few more imperial soldiers.

"Nishina, take Furata and Katsumoto and get in that building. I want a machine gun nest covering our right flank." Ordered Itami. "Kuribayashi and Sasagawa, join with the marines and help them set up a machine gun nest. Don't let them get close to you, fire in short bursts for one digimon at a time, these guys aren't humans so they'll need some extra punch."

Both officers started to give orders to their respective soldiers, creating with their mixed units an effective firing line while the soldiers are in deep cover. Their small position soon turned into an impenetrable chokepoint for the enemy as more waves of imperials try to breach through the humans' defenses. Thanks to the aid of the JSDF elements, the marines managed to recover their lost flank and are now attempting to push back the offensive force out of Iarica.

"Let's go, marines! Show them who they're fucking with!" Shouted Dukeman as the U.S. Marines and the JGSDF pushed through the heavily combat filled street. Tanks and APCs were leading the charge on the main road while the infantry maneuvered on the side street or took cover behind them.

The attack helicopters hovered above them and peppered the enemy with rocket fire and heavy rounds, clearing the entire street and gave the infantry enough momentum to make a big push.

Stephen charged forward as he yells at marines and japanese soldiers to move up and soon after, most of the infantry followed him. Eventhough projectiles and energy attacks whizzed pass him, Raymond kept running straight at the enemy. He took a fragmentation grenade and threw it at a nearby window of a building, taking out the three Commandramon in that building. He then spotted a Sealsdramon, who seems dazed, and charged at it with his bayonet. The cyborg digimon didn't have enough time to react as Raymond thrusted his melee weapon through the digimon's ribcage before shooting a couple of rounds at it.

"Heart Breaker!"

The marine lieutenant looked ahead of him to where he heard the voice and watched in shock as five marines had been impaled by a tall, black and pink armoured, stick wielding digimon. The digimon then spun around as its blades stocked on its armour slashes two other marines and a japanese soldier.

"Grand Cricket!" It shouted before smashing its stick at the wounded japanese soldier's abdomen.

Raymond quickly took another magazine for his rifle and opened fire at the digimon, grabbing its attention. The rounds harmlessly bounced off of its armour as it turned around to face Raymond with a sadistic smile. The digimon jumped towards the marine and swung its stick at him. Barely dodging the attack, the stick only knocked the rifle out of his hands. The digimon sneered and saw that the human took a few steps back and whipped out his pistol.

"I must say, human, you're quite a skilled combattant but you won't survive long enough." It said in an amused voice.

"I'll take that as a compliment, ma'am." Replied Raymond in a sarcastic tone.

"My, my... a skilled combattant and a gentleman, you're full of suprises."

"I have my moments..." The digimon smirked at the soldier's sarcasm.

"Well be ready for your last one..." It was about to launched an attack when it got interrupted mid-attack.

"Pyro sphere!"

"Diamond storm!"

She was knocked back by a big fireball and a shower of diamond-like projectiles. Though not deleted, it was enough to hurt her as she glares at her two attackers: a Renamon and, to her surprise, a Guilmon. The two digimon stood next the lieutenant, with Cyberdramon joining soon after, his LMG pointed at her.

"Fools! You think a bunch of rookies and an ultimate can defeat me?!" She snarled at them as she recovers from the attack.

"Us alone, no. But a few more marines and a tank, probably yes." Spoke Guilmon and on cue, several marines showed up and an M1 Abrams tank came along, all their weapons aimed at the QueenChessmon.

"You're all going to regret this. In a few moment, I'll be standing on you're bloodied corpses, you'll be impaled, slashed, stabbed and cut to pieces. I'll rejoice when-"

"Pendragon's glory!"

A high-powered laser beam struck QueenChessmon as she screams in agony before bursting into particles of data. Raymond looked up only to be met with a familiar face.

"I hope you don't mind us joining the party, lieutenant." Said Examon with a smug smile.

"I don't mind but what do you mean by 'us'"Asked Raymond.

"You must be 2nd Lieutenant Raymond..." Said a black armoured knight digimon that hovered next to Examon."I'm Alphamon, current leader of the Royal Knights and ready to assist you."

"Uh... Honored to meet you, sir, and glad that you came to assist us."

Alphamon simply nodded before he spoke up:

"Tell the others to not shoot at us while we'll take care of the rest." He then flew off towards the battlefield with Examon.

The marines looked at the lieutenant, dumbfounded by his calm attitude.

"What are you all staring at me for? Get your shit together and prepare to make one final push against the imperials. Oorah?"

"OORAH!"

Five hours has passed ever since the battle began. Both the Imperials and the IDDF had suffered heavy casualties. But thanks to their air superiorty and the sudden appearance of the Royal Knights, the Digital marines and the JGSDF had successfully defended the town and defeated the combined legions.

 _IDDF Casualty report:_

 _129 U.S. Marines KIA, 98 wounded._

 _46 JGSDF KIA, 27 wounded._

 _Enemy KIA:_

 _Approx. 600, 33rd Legion completely eradicated._

While the marines and the JGSDF evacuated their wounded and installing outposts around the town, 2nd lieutenant Raymond, Captain Richards, Colonel Eversman and Lieutenant General Hazama were in the main office of the townhall to negociate an alliance with the Royal Knights. In the office, a big wooden desk in the middle of the room where Hazama and Eversman took a seat at one side and Alphamon took one on the other side. Everyone else stood behind their respective leaders. In front of the humans were all the 11 Royal Knights: first there was obviously Alphamon, then there was Omegamon, Dukemon, Dynasmon, Magnamon, UlforceVeedramon, Duftmon, Sleipmon, Craniamon, RhodoKnightmon and Examon.

After a short moment of silence, Hazama coughed before he spoke to the Aloof Hermit:

"So let me get this straight: you need our help to liberate the Digital World and defeat the Imperium and in exchange you would let us conduct any military and diplomatic missions freely?"

"That is correct Lieutenant General. Our own force is outnumbered for this kind of conflict and we're cut off from our own allies by the imperials. I also want you to know that we want to welcome the Earth's nations in peace and that one day, once this war is over, we could trade with both of our worlds." Added Alphamon while smiling warmly at the humans.

"And how do we know that the Digital world shares the same opinion?" Asked Eversman.

"We're the Royal Knights, Colonel. Every digimon in this world recognize us as the guardians of the World. They know that we fight for them, for their freedom and that we bring justice to those who disrupt this world."

"What do you say about that?" Asked Hazama to Eversman.

"I'm okay with them. The more allies we've got, the sooner the war ends." He replied while resting his arms behind his head. "What about you boys?" He turned to Richards and Raymond.

"I'm perfectly fine with it." Responded Richards.

"I've seen plenty of crazy shit about this world, so why the hell not." Answered Raymond jokingly.

"That's the spirit Lieutenant." Said UlforceVeedramon with the same tone.

"Looks like the boys are getting along, I guess it's official." Declared Eversman as he stood up from his seat.

"Indeed, sir Alphamon, we will be looking forward to work with you once again." Stated Hazama as he stood up from his seat and lend his hand at Alphamon.

"It will be our pleasure Lieutenant General. Thank you so much." Said Alphamon as the three leaders shook hands.

And so, marked the alliance of the IDDF and the Royal Knights as these two forces will work with eachother in further engagements. The Knights of the Digital World and the Warriors of the Real World will soon become battle brothers for many battles to come in the near future.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

Operation "Bending Iron"

 _D-DAY + 40_

It has been more than a month since the human forces entered the Digital World. After the crippling defeat of the imperials at the battle of Iarica, the Sunset Valley region was soon under control and protection of the IDDF. Camps and outposts dotted the entire region as more and more soldiers from all over the world came pouring through the Gate, reaching through its first year limit of manpower. The IDDF and the Royal Knights managed to communicate with themselves throught the RK's Long Range Audio Communicator, or LRAC for short. However, their devices were not as efficient as their human counterpart, ironically, so they chose to use the second option: Skype.

But now recently, most of the IDDF elements were beginning to deploy closer to the region's borders because in a few days, they'll will launch an coordinated assault further up of the region as a starting point for their massive offensive push.

The mission:

-Take and hold major locations of the Dramon Republic.

-Search and destroy any elements of Imperial forces.

-Clear and secure all routes between Sunset Valley, Dramon Republic, the Republic of Node and the UDC.

-Liberate the Dramon Republic.

Codenamed "OP:Bending Iron", the operation will be the turning wheel for the IDDF and the Digital World to seek an end to the Imperium's ruling and dominance in the world.

 _Camp Devil Dog, Main U.S. Forces camp._

These past few days had been quite intense for Lt. Raymond and most of the other marines stationed in Camp Devil Dog.

Both combat drills and physical training had been increased in frequency and intensity as they prepare for one of the biggest military operation in modern history. Pretty much every officers and NCOs were reading through all the battle plans over and over again just to be exactly sure they didn't miss any details. Meetings were made everyday to either rehearse the plan or add another element to their map as the IDDF's drones gather more and more information behind enemy lines.

Captain Richards was explaining once again to the officers and NCOs as they all stood at his attention, all of them were listening carefully through Richards' advises. At the back of the briefing room, behind all of the marines inside was Raymond leaning against the wooden wall with a bored expression plastered on his face.

"You look quite tired, Stephen."

Stephen looked to his left and saw Renamon and Guilmon walking towards him.

"I guess so..." He said before yawning quietly.

Guilmon offered a cup of coffee to the Lieutenant before leaning against the wall next to Renamon. "Thanks for the coffee, Guilmon." Stephen said with a grateful smile.

"You're welcome, sir." Replied the red dinosaur before sipping his own cup of joe.

"You don't drink coffee, _sergeant_ Renamon?" Asked Raymond to the newly promoted digimon.

"I prefer energy drinks." She replied with a smirk.

"Yeah right, it's more like a bad drinking habit thanks to her tamer." Guilmon commented in a low voice.

"I don't have a drinking problem."

"Not with alcohol but with the energy drinks, you're an addict." Guilmon affirmed as Renamon blushed in embarrassement.

"Okay... maybe I do have a small bad habit..." She grumbled, admitting that the red dino was right. "But at least _I_ don't eat bread almost every hour." Renamon fired back while Stephen laughed silently.

"Touché Rena, touché." Admitted Guilmon before he returned his attention to the briefing.

"And that's where we come in." Announced Richards as he points at a location on the map. "Dramon Market, with a population of 34 000 digimon, this agricultural and trading town is a very important asset for the Imperials in the Southern continent. If we take this town, then the Imperial's supply line to the continent will be cut off, weakening their forces and allowing the other kingdoms to fight back. With the Dramon Republic liberated, we'll be able to free the entire continent in one clean swoop." Then the map zooms closer to the town.

"French and Japanese paratroopers will be deployed to the far East side of the town to cut off their escape routes. Meanwhile, we will rappel down along the main road that leads towards the Jade palace where four teams of Delta force will land nearby and take and hold the palace. 4th Infantry Division and 2nd Marine armoured division will push through the town by the main entrance. Our role is to secure any nearby command posts and any other military infrastructures and once the armoured force reaches the heart of Dramon Market, Echo company will join up with some elements of 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger regiment to capture the Armoury field just East of the town." Richards finally took his eyes off the map and looks at the marines.

"I cannot stress you enough that this isn't going to be an easy fight. I guarantee you all we will loose marines along the way. We will be fighting against a force of up to 5 000 well-trained and combat experienced soldiers. You will all be making thousands of decisions that... there are no real answers to. Don't let your emotions get ahead of you. Stick with the plan and if things don't go according to plan, adapt yourself to the situation. We're marines, we're masters of controlled chaos. Show them who they're fucking with."

"OORAH!" They all replied, now motivated and pumped up as the day of the operation drew near.

 _D-DAY + 41, Operation "Bending Iron"._

" _Good kill, Raptor 1, good kill. Hostile forward outposts has been destroyed. The angels will drop in 2 mikes, over."_

" _Roger that, Overlord. This is Raptor Actual, we're RTB for re-fueling and re-arming. How copy?"_

" _Solid copy, Raptor Actual. To all elements, air support will be unavailable for 20 mikes."_

As Overlord finished the announcement, Raymond saw the jets fly pass their helicopters as it was now their turn to go in the town. Military jargons could be heard in his helicopter and his radio while the pilots and Overlord were communicating with each other.

" _Alright listen up marines! Get ready to engage the enemy in 60 seconds. Watch your surroundings and stick together. This is Captain Richards, over and out."_

While some marines double check their weapon and gear, Stephen casually swings his legs over the passenger compartement of the UH-1Y Venom. Over two dozens of helicopters, ranging from Venoms to CH-53E Super Stallion and Littlebirds, dotted the beautiful clear blue sky over Dramon Market. Already caught off guard by the previous air bombings, the Imperials didn't even notice that an invasion force is dawning upon them.

Once the marines reached the town, the helicopters hovered in a scatter manner around the main road codenamed "Capital Road" and from there, U.S. Marines poured down in the town. In just a few seconds, all boots were on the ground and Capital Road was occupied by the marines. Digimon civilians ran away from them in fright while marines were already mobilizing to their objectives.

"CONTACT!" Yelled a marine before he got shot to the head.

"Take cover!" Shouted Raymond at his men as they all scattered around to hide behind a wall while others managed to reach the main entrance just in time. As of right now, Raymond's platoon was cut in two.

" _Sir, what do we do?"_ Asked Dukeman through his radio as his squad was the one to make it to the entrance.

"Just proceed with the objective, if things go south just hold your position." Answered the Lieutenant.

Raymond looks around to find any other access points for the rest of the marines. That's where he noticed an undergound "parking lot" to the right of the building where the enemy could not engage them.

"Bradley! Brook! Go check that building right behind and see if you can get a sniping position to pin them down." Ordered Lt. Raymond as he pointed to the two mentionned marines the old european-like two storey building facing the command post.

They both nodded and Raymond ordered the platoon to suppress the imperials as they ran straight to the building.

Bradley kicked the wooden door down before Brook went in. The building seemed to be a house as they cleared the 1st floor.

"Right clear." Said Larry.

"Left clear, moving to 2nd floor." Announced quietly Elena.

Larry took the lead and walked slowly and silently on the stone steps of the stairs with Elena creeping right behind him with her sidearm whipped out. When they cautiously arrived at the 2nd floor, they saw a hallway with a set of two doors on each side.

"You take the left, I'll take the right." Whispered Elena to which Larry responded with a nod.

They silently walked to their designated door and they simultanously entered the room. They both announced that it was empty and proceeded to the last set of doors. They breached into the rooms at the same time and they were relieved that they were empty. In Larry's room, there was a small stone balcony with curtains closed. He called out Elena and pointed at her the balcony, signaling her that it might be a good sniper spot. They took a table and placed it near the spot, Bradley lied on top of the furniture, where the DMR was placed on the edge with its bipod as she took aim at the roof top facing them. Larry opened slightly the curtains to give her enough line of sight while still being concealed to the enemy. Bradley then turned on her radio.

"We're in position. Give us the signal, sir." She whispered.

" _Take them out."_ Replied Raymond.

She slowed down her breathing as she aimed carefully at her first target, a Sealsdramon who seemed to be ordering around the Commandramon on the roof. She gently placed her index on the rifle's trigger, patiently waiting for the perfect moment. Then in the blink of an eye, she pulled the trigger and the Sealsdramon's head blew off as it dropped dead behind the imperials. The soldiers didn't noticed that their team leader was dead so she shot at another soldier then another and another, taking five of them before realizing they were losing their numbers rapidly.

"They're distracted, now's our chance." Shouted Raymond before the rest of the platoon went in the underground "parking lot".

However, they've just escape the easy part because once they went down the slope and arrived at the main area, they were met with a smiling Tankmon, eager to kill them all.

"Oh fuck! Take cover!" Yelled Lclp. Joseph Sanborn as he dived behind a concrete pillar.

The mechanical digimon laugh maniacally as its machine gun arms spewed out bullets in every direction, killing several marines.

"Cyberdramon! Take that fucker out now!" Ordered Raymond while the remaining marines suppress the Tankmon.

Cyberdramon nodded and then sprinted out of his cover. He quickly ran around the living tank until its back faced him. He then used his wings to fly upwards and launched himself straight at the tankmon.

"Desolation claw!" He shouted as he sliced through the android tank. The Tankmon cried out in pain before it bursted into data particles.

"Listen up! Sanborn, take your men and help Eugene evacuate the wounded and the dead. Call in a medevac and get us some reinforcements if you can. The rest of you, let's move out and help our fellow marines, oorah?"

"OORAH!"

Meanwhile in the command post's main entrance, Dukeman's squad was pinned down from four main hallways, one connected to the right, another to the left and two at back of the building. The marines use every bit of cover they could find: from the structural pillars to the reception desk and even the thin metal tables and chairs. Dukeman hurriedly turned his radio on while trying to conceal his figure from three different angle behind his pillar cover.

"Sir, where the hell are you?" He asked with a frustrated tone. "We're pinned and losing cover real fast, if you guys don't come here soon, we'll be dead men at this rate!"

" _Just hang in there Dukeman, we'll be there soon enough."_ Replied Raymond quietly.

"Son of a-"

Duke noticed something at the corner of his eye. He turned to his left and saw behind a marine that a small part of the environment seems to be distorted, like some kind of gas or mist has appeared behind his fellow marine. He examined carefully at it until he spotted a blade that shined at the contact of sunlight. That's when he realized...

"SHIT! GET DOWN, CHAFFIN!" Ordered Dukeman as he opened fire in the general direction of the cloaked enemy.

Some of the bullets connected to it as blood spewed out of "nowhere". The cloak desactivated and revealed a Sealsdramon with its dagger in hand, punctured by the bullets, it dropped on the ground and dissolved to data.

"Watch your six! Double check the shadows, we've got cloaked enemies here." Warned out loud the sergeant.

"Sir! We're sitting ducks here! Give us an order to move somewhere." Cried out PFC. Jonathan Cobbly.

"I'm working on it Cobb!" Replied Dukeman.

He took quick glances at all four directions, looking for a way out of this mess. He then looked back at the left hallway and saw that it was abandonned, either the imperials were setting up an ambushor they repositioned themselves somewhere else. He didn't really care in either way they'll die if they didn't move from their position or if the left hallway was a trap.

" _2 chances out of 3 of dying, I better get a permission to leave if we survive all this shit."_ Thought Dukeman, annoyed at his current situation.

"Fuck it." He swore under his breath. "Listen up! We'll be moving to the left hallway on my signal."

He pulled out a M18 smoke grenade, pulled the pin and tossed it in the middle of their cover. Once the smoke covered almost the entire main entrance area, he ordered his squad to move out and they all ran to the left wing hallway. Fortunately for them, the enemy just kept shooting at their abandonned cover.

"Is everyone okay?" Dukeman asked quietly to the remaining marines of his squad.

"Fine, sir, but what about the dead?" Asked Pvt. Peter Chaffin.

"We'll come back for Greyson and Montes." Answered the staff sergeant, mentioning the names of their fallen marines. "We'll come back for them, I promise." He added.

He reloaded his M16A4 rifle before giving out orders:

"Buck and Ripley, you watch our back. Chaffin, you take point."

The squad moved at a slow pace as they walked through the left hallway, their back hugging the wall. The hallway had a right turn which probably leads further down the command post. Chaffin, who had a better angle towards the turn, raised his fist up to signal the rest of the squad to a halt. He moved a few steps forwards then stops to lean to his left to get a better field of view. He jumped out of surprise but immediately pulled down his rifle.

"Oh thank god you're here..." He said gratefully and popping out of the corner was Lt. Raymond and the rest of the platoon.

Dukeman's squad relaxed and looked up at their officer with glimpses of hope in their eyes.

"How's everybody here?" Asked Raymond.

"Fucked up but not dead." Replied Dukeman with sarcasm.

"Same here. Alright jokes aside, we need to move on with our objective." Announced the lieutenant. "Reinforcement should be arriving soon, the main armoured force just pushed through the gate so we're probably a few minutes behind our schedule. Let's move out. Cyberdramon, take point."

The rest of the platoon proceeded further in the building, clearing room after room only to find them empty. They soon entered in a massive, two floor room filled with office cubicles and computers and a stairway on each side of the room that leads up to the second floor. Assuming to be some sort of communication or intelligence room with the second floor overlooking it, they continued to move on, walking cautiously towards the left stair and completely avoiding the central area. On the second floor, they found that the furnitures were thrown in every direction and papers littered the carpeted floor. They were about to head towards a set of double doors to exit this room when suddenly they heard the doors on the first floor bursting open and several imperial soldiers showed up. Both forces were caught off guard by the sudden presence of their enemy, they both froze up and stare at one another before shortly taking cover and shooting at eachother.

"Motherfuckers! Do they have to show up NOW?!" Shouted Dukeman before he plucked a frag grenade at the enemy, taking out a chunk of their forces.

"Jackson! Check if those double doors are clear." Ordered Stephen to PFC. Paul Jackson.

The private nodded and rushed towards the double doors. He was about to kick the doors open but was interrupted when the doors opened violently, pushing him and he fell down. He looked up only to see three Commandramon staring at him nervously. Jackson quickly brought up his M16 and hip fired, spraying bullets at them. After they turned to data, Jackson stood up and made a quick clear check.

"Double doors clear!" He shouted.

"Got it! We'll be maintaining this position for now, the double doors are our escape route. If we hold here, they're bound to send all of their manpower at us." Raymond instructed after taking out two soldiers. "RETREAT?"

"HELL!" They all replied out loud.

The marines showered their enemy with lead and explosives as more and more imperial soldiers pour in the room. Desks and computers were reduced to scraps and papers started to fly around the room, giving both forces a hard time to hit each other. By taking this distraction to their advantage, several Commandramon and Sealsdramon ran up the right stair to flank the marines. Noticing them at the corner of his eyes, Cyberdramon switched his position and placed his LMG at the other direction. Soon, the flaking force was gone, covered in bullet holes.

"RIGHT STAIR! SOMEONE WATCH THE RIGHT STAIR!" He yelled out.

Jackson and Buck moved up to the other stair and covered their left flank. Cyberdramon switched back to his previous position and resumed his fire at the enemy down below.

The close quarters firefight lasted for a few minutes which felt like hours for the marines, it ended with Chaffin being wounded to his right leg and the death of Cpl. Jason Buck. The marines waited for a full minute to make sure that there was no one left except them in the room. The second floor was littered with bullet casings and completely 'decorated' in bullet holes, burn marks and smoke. Then some of the marines started to chuckle before laughing uncontrollably, relieved that they survived such a bloodbath.

"We fucking did it, goddamn." Commented Chaffin as he sighs in relief.

" _Echo 2-1, this is Echo-Actual, what's your status?"_ Asked Cpt. Richards through Raymond's radio.

"Objective secured. We've got several KIAs and multiple wounded, requesting a medevac to our position, how copy?"

" _Solid copy Lieutenant, help is already on the way, sit tight for a while. Once the casualties have been evacuated, meet up with the rest of the company at the Jade Palace."_

"Roger that, Echo-Actual." Replied Raymond before he turned off his radio. "Marines, you've got my permission to rest for a bit before aid arrives here then we'll move out to the Jade Palace to join up with the rest of the offensive force. Oorah?"

"OORAH!"


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

An unexpected rescue mission

An hour has passed ever since the operation begun and the Allied forces are beginning to face heavy retaliations from the enemy.

In Dramon Market, the french and japanese paratroopers were being shelled by the heavy mobile artilleries from the Armoury Field. Meanwhile, the main armoured force just entered the town and the Delta forces at the Jade Palace were having a hard time to secure the palace. With thirty minutes late in their schedules, the infantry division and most of the Digital marines were tasked to assist the special forces units while Echo company and elements of 1st Ranger Battalion continued with their task. With the air support being constantly called to other areas of operations, the assault group won't have any support from the IDDF.

Their convoy was consisted of a few dozens of MRAPs and M-ATVs and 6 LAVs. Once they were out of the town through the south gate, the convoy spread out in a spearhead formation as they head towards the Armoury Field through the open grassy fields. They later spotted a small group of aerial digimon flying near them.

"Are we seriously letting them fly above us?" Asked incrediously Cyberdramon.

"You know the rules of engagements, Cyberdramon, they're just a bunch of scouts and messengers. Plus I don't see a reason to waste our heavy rounds on them when we'll need them later." Replied Raymond with a reassuring smile. "Although that doesn't stop you from flipping the bird at them." He added with an amusing tone before he opened the window of the M-ATV and flipped a bird at the enemy scouts.

Some of the Rangers on the machine gun turret seat began showing the 'finger' while some marines started insulting the imperials.

"What have you done, Lieutenant..." Muttered Dukeman as he witnessed the scene.

A few minutes later, Captain Richards announces to the marines and the Rangers through the comms as the imperial scouts fly away from them.

" _Listen up! The scouts just left so that means we'll be encountering their artillery soon. Speed up through them and keep yourselves spread out. Good luck and see you on the other side gentlemen."_

As if cue, sounds of battery firing and trails of smoke launched out of the Armoury Field and heading straight for them. Explosions erupted around them as the ground shook and dirt shot out in the air. The closer they got, the more intense the artillery fired as their rate of fire increased significantly. A shell erupted near Raymond's transport vehicle, the rain of dirt disoriented Larry as he tries to rebalance the M-ATV.

"That's one hell of driving out there, Larry!" Exclaimed PFC. Sebastian Salt behind the gunner seat.

Suddenly they heard a thunderous explosion behind them as it was followed by a violent shaking. The vehicle stopped dead on its tracks.

"Why did you stop?" Yelled Raymond. Larry just froze for a second before staring with a shocked expression at the him.

"W-we didn't get hit?" Stuttered out the driver.

Stephen looked out of his window and scanned around their perimeter. Most of the vehicles were still heading towards the field, leaving them behind. Stephen then looked behind the vehicle.

"Fuck..." He said silently.

Eventhough they dodged a shell, unfortunately for the vehicle behind them, they didn't have the same chance. The MRAP was completely crushed and melted by the blazing fire. It was a guarantee that no one survived the blast and more distrubing that it was sure their bodies were gone. Raymond sat back in the vehicle with a grim expression on his face before he ordered Larry to continue to drive.

"What about the bodies?" Asked sadly the driver.

"We won't find any." Simply replied the platoon officer.

Once the marines and the Rangers has breached through the enemy lines, the artillery had stopped firing, not wanting to cause any friendly fire. Although they managed to stop the bombardment, it only delayed them as the imperials relocate their artilleries. The assault convoy kept speeding through Armoury Field towards their destination, the imperial Command and Control Center. A three storey building built in concrete and steel and surrounded with thick steel Aegis-like defense lines and sandbags.

"1st and 2nd platoon! Move up with the Rangers and secure out the building! We'll take care of the artillery." Ordered Cpt. Richards as the marines and Rangers jump out of their transports.

They rushed in the building, bashing the double plywood doors and immediately neutralised the security team.

"Reception clear!" Yelled a Ranger while the rest of the assault group formed up a 360° firing line.

"You think you can catch up with us, Lieutenant?" Asked Sergeant Keith Foley.

"Lead the way, we'll be just behind you." Replied Raymond with a smirk.

"Roger that. Alright listen up! We've got an entire three storey building to clear out full of hostile digimon, let's make this quick and painful for them. Hooah?"

"HOOAH!" Replied the Rangers.

And so the assault team moved through every hallway and room on each floor, the close-quarter firefights were easily won by the humans' volume of fire power and numbers. Doors were being kicked down, walls were being destroyed and peppered to bits. Frag and flash grenades were thrown at the enemy, the dark hallways lit up with tracer rounds and muzzle flashes. Commandramon were being shot and stabbed as the humans were now striking their foes with more ferocity and showing no signs of mercy. The firefights were beginning to become more brutal as the marines and Rangers basically fought continously through the entire first two floors. They then went on separate ways, the Rangers would clear the control center located on the otherside of the building while the marines clear out the third floor.

With Stephen on the lead, they slowly went up the spiral stairwell that led to the third floor's living quarters, all their weapons were drawn at the double doors at the end of the stairwell. Once they've reached the top, two marines went on both sides of the doors and simultanously kick them open and held them to let the rest pass through. It was a long hallway, dozens of doors were aligned on one side while sun light pass through the windows on the other. Suddenly, they all jumped when they heard frantic knockings and muffled screams coming from further down the hallway. Their weapons drawn towards the general direction, the marines proceeded cautiously towards the sounds while clearing one by one the dorms they pass by. After clearing ten empty dorms, they've finally reached to the sounds and what they heard surprised them.

They could barely hear someone or something crying out for help, in japanese. With nothing to do and on short time, Raymond decided he will enter the room first while some marines gathered up behind him if things do go south.

"You have five seconds to step away from the door before I kicked it down!" Warned Raymond loudly, assuming that the person on the otherside of the door could understand him.

The cries and knocks had ceased right after his warning but the lieutenant still counted down. He kicked the door down and pointed his rifle forward, what he found surprised him.

"The fuck?" He asked to himself while more marines came rushing in and stopped dead on their tracks.

"P-please don't k-kill me! I'm just a student!" The human cried out with his arms held up high.

The boy seems to be at least 17 years old, wearing a torn and ripped highschool uniform, his face was covered in bruises and scratches, making the marines guess he was in captivity for a long time and he didnt' get the best treatment.

"What's your name kid?" Asked Raymond.

"K-Koushi-ro I-Izumi..." He replied with a coarse voice.

He seemed to be on the verge of crying as his legs couldn't hold on. He was about to fall down but Brook caught him just before his face could hit the floor.

"Hang in there buddy, we'll get you home safe and sound." Said Larry before he placed the teen's left arm around him so he could use the marine as a prop to walk.

"How long have you been in captivity? Are there any others?" Asked the platoon commander of 2nd platoon, 2nd lieutenant William Martinez.

Before Izumi could reply, the two platoon commanders were being called on their radio.

" _Echo 1-1 and 1-2, we just found a red bug-like digimon, non-hostile but it seems to not trust us either, how copy?"_ Informed the ranger.

Raymond paused for a second he looked up at Izumi to see him smile faintly.

"You know the digimon?" He asked.

The boy nodded before he spoke up: "He's my friend. Please, I beg of you to not hurt him, lieutenant."

"Hunter 2-1, escort safely the digimon and meet us at the reception area, tell him we've found his friend." He instructed, giving Izumi a reassuring nod.

" _Roger that, we'll be there in 2 minutes, out."_

"Listen up, marines! We've got two VIPs and we ought to get them out of here. Nathan, call in a medevac and tell them we need it ASAP. In the meantime, we'll hold on and fortify this place. Lewis, Lenihan and Gordon take the rooftop, you'll be our eyes to the outside." Ordered out Lt. Martinez. "Retreat?"

"HELL!" Yelled out the marines.

Meanwhile, in another city located a few kilometers East of Dramon Market, the small convoy of the Third Recon team sped through the empty and ruined roads of the city of Sadera.

"How are the civilians, Kurokawa?" Asked Itami with slight worry in his voice as he looks back the Toyota high mobility vehicle passenger seats behind him.

On the passenger seats was Sergeant 1st class and combat medic Mari Kurokawa and beside her were the sleeping figures of a young teen girl and a small cat-like digimon resting peacefully on her laps.

"For now they're fine, lieutenant." Replied Kurokawa with a comforting smile.

"Damn it, first we get invaded by digital monsters then we need to rescue some kids all across a world that's twice the size of Earth." Commented Kurata while he sighed in frustration. "They better give us a raise after this whole mess." He added.

Itami simply chuckled and turned on his radio.

"Hey 'pops', do you know when our ride's coming?"

" _They should be arriving soon, lieutenant. And stop calling me 'Pops'."_ Replied the sergeant major.

"Roger that, Pops." Said Itami, playfully ignoring the veteran's complaint.

"Looks like the old man was right." Commented Kurata as he could hear three Chinooks flying above them, towards the rendez-vous point.

When the convoy arrived at the city's forum, some members of the Third Recon team got out of the vehicles to escort the two civilians while others were taking defensive positions to cover their backs. Itami led the teen and the cat digimon in the one of the massive helicopters safely before being called by one of the chopper's crewman.

"Are you Lieutenant Itami?" Asked the JASDF crewman, the officer in question nodded in confusion. "You've been ordered to come with us with some of your soldiers and help the americans to evacuate their civilians." He informed Youji.

"WHAT?! Can't you guys go by yourselves? You've got three choppers."

"We can't. The americans are getting a beating and they need to be evacuated quickly."

"What about the rest of us?"

"They've receive orders to pull back."

"In the middle of the operation?!" Asked Itami irritated.

The crewman simply shrugged. "I'm just doing my job, man. Now quickly pick three men and get in the helo!"

The crewman jogged back in the helicopter leaving Itami for a second. The young lieutenant groaned and picked up three members of his team.

"Kuribayashi, Tomita and Kurokawa! You're all coming with me for an escort mission. Sergeant-major, take command of the rest and RTB for retasking."

"HAI!" They all replied without any hesitation.

On board the Chinook, the four members of the team look out of the exit, silently watching their fellow teammates vacate the area with the convoy as the transport vehicle lifts off the ground.

"Um...lieutenant, can you tell us why we're going on an escort mission without the others?" Asked Tomita calmly.

"Yeah, and why in the middle of the operation? I've only managed to kill two imperials." Added Kuribayashi with an annoyed expression.

Itami silently stared back at them before he finally spoke up.

"Because the americans also found a human and a digimon civilian. Not only that but I've heard that they haven't receive any kind of air support since the assault started."

He then stared at Kuribayashi dumbfounded as she fixed a bayonet on the barrel of her Howa Type 89 assault rifle.

"Really, Kuribayashi... a bayonet now." He said with a disapproval look.

"You never know when things might get ugly." She stated with a sadistic smile.

"You really need to see a psychiatrist, you're scaring the little girl." Scolded Tomita.

While Tomita and Kuribayashi were bickering in the Chinook, the Rangers and the marines back at the Armoury Field were being pinned down and taking some losses. With the rest of the company cut off and the imperials mainly focusing on them, they were getting desperate for the arrival of their evacuation. However it didn't stopped them to fight more ferociously and more deadly. With the support of the french and japanese paratroopers raining death from above with mortar shells, the imperials were being cut to pieces.

Just outside the entrance, 1st platoon held their ground behind the sandbags and steel walls. Lt. Raymond was walking from cover to cover, passing out encouraging words and ammo to his marines.

"Come on! Keep the fire flowing! Don't let those fuckers get pass us. Show them no mercy, marines! Oorah?" He shouted out.

"OORAH!"

He stopped behind a wall, ignoring the bullets passing closely around him as he aims down his ACOG and opened fire short bursts at the enemy. After he emptied his mag, he dropped to one knee behind the steel wall to load another mag in his rifle, stands back up and shoots at them with rapid semi-auto fire and deadly accuracy.

Meanwhile in the building, Rangers and 2nd platoon laid out storms of rounds and 40mm grenades. Izumi was hiding behind the reception office, covering his head and ears with Tentomon close by his side as bullet casings from some of the Rangers dropped carelessly on top of him. A soldier ducked under office and looked at Izzy with a friendly smile.

"Hang in there, kid. You'll be home soon." He said before loading another mag in his M4A1 rifle and resumed to open fire at the imperials.

Shortly after, another Ranger dropped on the ground, yelling in pain as he holds on the massive wound on his left arm. The operator knelt down and gave the wounded soldier a morphine shot and applying pressure on the wound.

"Corpsman! Wade's hit!" He cried out.

Navy corpsman "Doc" Adukwu rushed towards the wounded soldier and quickly began applying bandages and treat the wounds.

"Those Chinooks better get here quickly or else we're fucked!" Shouted Cpl. Parker.

"Shut up, Parker! Semper fi, brother." Replied PFC. Allen.

And as if on cue, the roars of rotors of the mighty Chinooks could be heard outside. Raymond ran inside the building, his uniform covered once again in dirt and ash.

"We'll give you cover fire while you evacuate the casualties and the VIPs, make it quick." He stated before running back to the battlefield.

"You heard the man, double time marines!" Ordered Lt. Martinez as both Rangers and marines carried the wounded and escorted Izumi and Tentomon out.

Just as Itami's Chinook landed, he ordered his small squad to spread out and in defensive position. He ducked in fright as a projectile whizzed by his head. He knelt down and opened fire in the general direction of the imperials. Projectiles and energy, or magical, beams flew close the extraction team. Itami noticed to his right the american soldiers carrying their wounded and escorting a teenage boy towards him.

"Mari, Tomita, go help out the americans with the casualties! Kuribayashi, take care of the boy!" He ordered while firing in small bursts.

"RYOKAI!" They replied before doing their given tasks.

Kuribayashi approached the two Rangers escorting the boy. "Me take care boy." She said with a sloppy english vocabulary.

The Rangers simply nodded and handed her Izumi with Tentomon following close behind.

"Don't you worry kid, we're going to take you home." She gave Izumi a friendly smile as they entered the Chinook.

Both Izzy and Tentomon froze on their tracks once they laid their eyes on the other passengers.

"Hikari..."

The girl in question turned and looked up at him. She gasped in surprise before running up to him and hugged him dearly, bursting in tears.

"Oh thank god you're safe! I-I thought they'll kill you or e-even worse! Are you okay?"

Izzy patted gently her head, trying to comfort her.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking. Just a little beating, it's nothing." He stated with a comforting smile though he lied about that last part, his ribcages actually do hurt a lot.

"Do you know where are the others?" She asked, hoping she could see her friends and more importantly her brother.

However his smile disappeared, he knew he couldn't lie away with this one.

"I'm afraid no. They blinded us when we got separated a few hours before the military came. I'm sorry, Kari." He replied sadly.

Hikari sat down in silence, her hands covering her face as she continues to sob silently. Izzy and the two digimon sat beside her and gave a comforting hug, all of them wishing to see their friends back safely.

Once the casualties and the soldiers were in the Chinooks, the helicopters quickly took off of the Armoury Field before it was being bombed by Mirage 2000 fighter jets called in by the french paratroopers.

Though the battle was over, firefights still raged on as the sun begins to set and night approaching. The JASDF crewman walked up to Raymond and Itami, who sat next to eachother, and spoke up loudly.

"Overlord just gave the order to take both of you, the civvies and your men back to FOB Ginza."

"What?! What about the others?" Asked Raymond with concern, knowing that the rest of the company has to continue to fight.

"They're being pulled back to the back lines. They'll get some rest too, especially after what you all have been through, you guys earned it in my book." Replied the crewman. He then looked at the kids with sympathy. "These kids must have been through hell. Not only that but I've heard there are more of them."

"Six more..." Itami said to no one in particular.

"It begs the question though: why would the imperials want to capture children? More specifically them? That's just messed up." Commented the crewman before he went back to sit behind his M240B.

Raymond took quick glances at the teenagers, they all look tired and sad. Raymond's hands clenched into fists as anger and determination filled his mind: they will _find_ the missing children and they _will_ bring them back _alive._


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

Semper Fidelis

With most of the major cities under IDDF control after fighting for 48 hours straight, air bombings and artillery bombardments were called in more frequently by those who are still fighting. With more available and frequent support and reinforcements, the last city soon fell under the IDDF after another 24 hours of constant fighting. With the supply routes cut off by the americans and the region's capital liberated, the imperial legion was forced to retreat out of the territory. Thus the Dramon Republic was liberated, striking a huge blow to the Imperium's war effort but at a great cost:

 _IDDF casualties:_

 _approx. 900 KIA, 1900 wounded._

 _500 imperials captured._

With the loss of an important territory, the IDDF expects the Imperium to launch a massive counter-attack if they don't act first.

 _FOB Ginza, 20 km away from the frontlines._

Sgt. Flamedramon was sipping quietly his cup of coffee, enjoying his time away from the warzone. Yet it didn't stopped him from feeling a bit annoyed at his superior officers. He respects and admires them, there's no doubt about that, but why is _he_ the one to babysit every single civilian they find. After sipping his coffee he looks back at the two digimon sitting across the mess hall table, staring at him in curiosity. He let out a sigh and rubbed his eyes with his right hand, a headache was building up inside his head.

"Let me guess, you guys have questions." Tentomon and Gatomon both nodded slowly. "Well... ask then."

They both lit up like a christmas tree as they bombard him with questions:

"How long have you been in the army ?"

"Do you have a tamer ?"

"Why are you wearing armour ?"

"Where are your armoured gloves ?"

"Why are you wearing pants ?"

Flamedramon then noticed Guilmon sitting next to him with his own tray of food. Guilmon chuckled as he looks at his friend's attitude.

"Cheer up, Flamey. At least you're not ordered to really take care of them." Said the red dino trying to cheer up his friend.

"For the last time, don't call me 'Flamey'. You know I hate that nickname." Groaned lightly Flamedramon.

"And that is why I keep calling you that." Guilmon gave the blue dramon a childish grin.

"You sick and cruel digimon. I knew it there was a dark force behind your immature character." Flamedramon said dramatically as he playfully punched Guilmon's right shoulder.

"Hey, can you look after them for a few minutes, please? I'm going to take a nap." He then asked.

"Yeah right, as if I'll let you do such a thing." Replied Guilmon as he starts eating his lunch.

"You've ask for it..." Flamedramon faintly said before he turned at the two other digimon. "Hey, did you guys know that this digimon is currently dating Renamon?" He asked them loudly and obnoxiously.

"Wait, how did you-?" Asked Guilmon, caught completely off guard and turning redder then his scales.

Tentomon and Gatomon gasped in awe before they turned to Guilmon and asked him an overload of questions about his relationship with Renamon. Before the red dino could even respond, he spotted Flamedramon already on his way out of the mess hall.

"Really, Flamedramon?!" He shouted in frustration.

"Semper fi, Guilmon! Semper fi!" He shouted back with a huge grin.

Navy corpsman Hal "Holiday" Eugene sat down behind his desk with a pen and medical reports in his hands. He took quick glances at the reports before finally facing Izumi and Hikari who sat silently across the medic.

"How are you feeling, kid?" He asked, metionning Izzy.

"Fine, sir." He replied bluntly.

"Did you both had a good sleep?"

The two teens hesistantly nodded, unsure if they answered truthfully.

"Are you sure? You can tell me anything. It's quite normal if you two have night terrors, it's not a sign of weakness or that you're unusual." He informed them, hinting them to tell the truth. "Marines do have them after all..." He added for emphasis.

Izumi sighed in defeat before he spoke up with a small tremble in his voice: "I-I might have some... night terrors..."

"I understand, you've been through hell. Both of you." Eugene then looks at Hikari. "Miss Yagami, do you mind if you leave us alone for the time being? It won't be long and I've ordered the guards to escort you to the mess hall."

"N-no, not at all..." She nervously replied. She stood up from her seat and walked out of Eugene's office, heading towards the mess hall with two marines by her side.

"Do you remember anything in your night terrors?" He asked after a small moment of silence.

"They were more like memories instead of night terrors..." Answered Izzy with head hung down, feeling somewhat ashamed.

"Just take your time, Izumi." Comforted the medic as he gives the teenager a cup of water.

Izzy eagerly sipped down the entire cup before he started to tell Eugene what he remembered:

 _We were walking down some sort of military base, I can tell by the number of soldiers and equipment present in the area... I think it was two months after our capture in Odaiba, and for unknown reasons it was the only time that they didn't blinded our eyes. We were in Armoury Field, all of us together with our digimon, tied up. Once we entered the building, they seperated us from our partners as they were escorted to one side of the building and us the other._

 _I think it was a week later that they were talking about moving some of us out, and it was also at that time I received beatings from some of the guards. They kicked me to my ribs, punch me and even use metal poles for several minutes before leaving me on the floor. They said something about moving some of us to Saderna? Sardina... and to camp 105, I think it was that... They moved Hikari, Mimi and Joe two weeks later to that city. The day you guys invaded the area, they rushed everyone out of the building to relocate. However, they might have forgotten about me and... well you know the rest of the story..._

In the FOB's prison building, lieutenant Raymond went through the reception and prison entry security checks before finally arriving to the prison cells. Most of POWs in the cells were chained and disarmed but were at least given food and water by the military police. He passed through the cells, giving quick glances at the cells before stopping to one specific cell. The detainee was a Strikedramon with his helmet and armour confiscated by the marines. The commando dragon looked at him curiously.

"Master Sergeant Strikedramon?" He asked with a stern stare. In response the digimon simply gave him a nod. "Take him to the interrogation room." He ordered as two MPs got in his cell, binded his arms behind his back and escorted the digimon.

Once they were in the room, the guards dropped the digimon on a chair and left the room as the lieutenant ordered them to. The human sat across the digimon in the small room, with only two chairs and a thin metal table present in that room. The Lieutenant placed a folder on the table and reads it out loud.

"Master Sergeant Strikedramon. Served in the 5th Mechanised Infantry Battalion of the 41st Legion. Part of C company, team leader of unit 23. You were ordered to take care of human prisoners, which you beat them every night. You were also ordered to hold your grounds in the defense of Armoury Field, to which you simply abandonned your post and ran away like a bitch instead of dying for your _glorious_ emperor."

He stared at the digimon sternly which made him flinch a little. Raymond placed the folder down and looked at the digimon with a cold stare.

"Though I really do want to kill you on the spot, I am an open minded kind of guy so I'm willing to give you a second chance. I don't know if you digimon have rules of war but where I come from there is this thing called the "Geneva Convention"; basically war rules. And so, you are protected by this convention because this is the humane thing to do."

"... What do you want from me?" Strikedramon asked curiously.

"Tell us where you've relocated the prisoners. Answer truthfully or face severe consequences. And don't make me lose my patients." Raymond warned sternly.

"Or else what?" Asked Strikedramon with a smug smile. "You can't harm me, you just said so."

"Oh I know but I'm not the one who's going to teach you a lesson." Answered Raymond as he gave Strikedramon a sadistic smile. "However, she can and she will."

And on cue, BlackRenamon appeared out of nowhere behind the prisoner. Strikedramon jumped out of fright and looks nervously between the human and the black vixen.

"She's not part of our military nor is she part of any military." Added Raymond. "And I think you know the reputation Renamon have when it comes to fighting capabilities and their personality, especially the females."

Strikedramon gulped loudly, his confident and cool behaviour soon vanished once he laid his eyes on the black vixen. But he remained loyal to his Imperium, giving Raymond the silent treatment.

"A strong silent type?" Mused the lieutenant. "You do know you're making this worst for yourself, right? And besides, I don't think the Imperium is ever going to send their soldiers to rescue a few dozen digimon. You're dead to them." He informed before gave a hand signal at BlackRenamon.

She grabbed hold of Strikedramon's red hair, pulling them harshly downward, making him gasped in pain. She shoved a ball of cloth down on his mouth to muffle his cries. His head was forced to the table before receiving a strike to his right ribs.

His breath choked on his neck, feeling an intense throbbing on his ribs. She lifted his head upwards and violently punched him across his right cheek, his vision began to blur from the level of pain.

Raymond leaned forward from his seat. "Are you going to talk now?" He asked with a false smile. Strikedramon remained silent in defiance.

"We can do this all day long." Raymond muttered under his breath before he allowed BlackRenamon to resume her torture.

She nodded back at him with a sly sadistic smile. She tossed the dragon on the cold paved floor, standing above him as she cracked her knuckles. She stared down at her prey with daggers pointed at him.

She stomped forcefully between his legs, the dragon released a pained growl. She knelt hardly on his ribcages before she started to strike him with fists full of bottled up rage.

Raymond waited patiently for several minutes, looking through his smartphone idly. After a few more punches, BlackRenamon hauled Strikedramon up and placed him back at his seat. The digimon prisoner was covered in bruises and bled profusely from his nostrils and on the corners on his mouth. She pulled out the gag cloth, prompting Strikedramon to gasp greedily for air.

He panted heavily before spitting some blood on the floor. He was tired, stained with his own blood. Meanwhile, BlackRenamon casually wiped her bloodied, white furred paws with some water.

"Do you want to talk or do you want to keep your mouth shut?" Asked Raymond while tucking his personal phone on his trousers' pocket.

"I'll talk." He answered with a raspy and weak voice.

Raymond gave the keys to the black vixen to uncuff Strikedramon. Once his hands were free he massaged them, the skin marked by the tight handcuffs. Raymond placed a map of the region on the table.

The dragon digimon observed the map carefully, trying to remember the locations as he browses on the map.

"There," He pointed at a specific location on the map. "this is where you'll find camp 105, located in a cave on top of a small rocky mountain." He then shifted his finger to another location. "We've also relocated some of them at the Red District in Monodramonville."

"Where exactly?" Asked Raymond inquisitively.

"At a local mercenary pub. This place is a safe haven for drug dealings, slave tradings, mercenaries and gangs, you name them. The area is currently under the control of the Black Devils company." Strikedramon informed him with a hint of dread.

"See? That wasn't so bad." He then stood up from his seat and cuffed the digimon back. "Thank you for your cooperation, Master Sergeant." He said sarcastically.

"Fuck you." The digimon responded venomously.

Raymond ordered the vixen to leave the room. After she vanished from sight, he called out the MP guards so they can escort the prisoner back to his cell. He met her again outside of the building.

"You think he's telling the truth?" She asked with some doubt as she walks with Raymond.

"Well, if he didn't, we'll just come back and _'ask'_ him again." He answered with a small smile on his face.

"Where are you heading now?"

"Headquarters, the higher ups will probably send Special Forces to rescue the missing children."

"And what makes you think they're still alive?" She asked as she slowed down her pace before stopping in her tracks.

He stopped and turned around with a confident smirk on his face. "For a Renamon, you sure do ask a lot. To answer your question, Semper fi."

"What does-"

"It means 'Always faithful' in latin. We're marines, it's what we do."

He then continued to walk towards the headquarters, leaving the black vixen alone on the dirt road.

" _Listen up, your mission is clear. Take out the guards and help the Rangers to rescue the missing children of Japan. They have been in captivity for several months now and we will bring them back home alive. Protect them with your lives! You're the SFG, the elites of the JSDF, the shadow warriors that will install fear to the enemy. Strike them down from the darkness!"_

The operators of the SFG unit "Assassin" stood up from their seats once the interior lights turned red, prompting them to ready for the jump. The low buzzing of the C-130 aircraft shook lightly. The rear ramp slowly pulled down, revealing the pitch dark sky of the Digital World, the data streams at the atmosphere provided little to no light.

1st Lieutenant Yuuki "Chaplain"stood near the edge of the ramp, observing calmly down at the void darkness. He looked back at his team, they were all ready to jump. They may be younger than the already forty year old lieutenant but they showed and proved him that they were capable for any mission.

Seconds later the lights turned green. Time to jump out. With a swift hand execution from their commander, the nine other operators leaped out of the aircraft. With the last operator out, Yuuki gave a thumb ups at the JASDF crewman beside him and jumped out.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

Missing children

PFC. Takahiro Tazaki landed with a soft grunt. He quickly took off the chute, folded the cloth neatly before tucking it in the bag.

He took off the respirator mask and lifted his balaclava up, concealing half of his face. He slung his HK417 forward, making sure a round was chambered before he wandered off to search for his teammates.

The designated marksman jogged lightly through the dark forest, like a spectre of the forest. The SFG operators blended in the environment perfectly. Good for them, he figured, at least they have the element of surprise.

Several seconds later he managed to regroup with the rest of the squad. "Chaplain" sat in the middle of the circle, displaying a small map with only a small dim red light as a light source.

"Tazaki, Amari, you'll take the left flank by the ridge." He instructed with a quiet but authoritative voice. "Sakuma, Miyoshi and Jitsui will take the right flank by the small treelines. Odagiri, Hatano and Kaminaga will take care of the power located at the East of the caverns. Fukumoto and I will handle the barracks at the North." The 1st lieutenant looked up at his men. They all nodded silently. "Let's go."

The team dispersed swiftly and moved stealthily to their designated positions. The small sniper fireteam made it at the top of the ridge of a small hill in a full minute, having an overview of the camp's front entrance. Hidden behind the foliages, they silently propped their weapon's bipods on the soft ground, pulling down their NVGs before they took aim, waiting for the order to strike. At the corner of his eye, Tazaki can see Odagiri's team slowly approaching the camp's fenced perimeter. They dropped on the ground and crawled up the last few meters close to the fence, Hatano prepped up his bolt cutter. Amari nudged him lightly and pointed with his head at the treelines to their right, observing Sakuma's team proned below the bushes with their weapons held up, ready to charge once the order is given.

A soft buzz came from his headset. Tazaki pressed on the button located on the left headpiece.

" _Status."_ Demanded Yuuki.

" _Assault team, ready."_ Announced Sakuma.

" _Breach team, ready."_ Reported Odagiri.

"Sniper team, ready." He replied.

" _Support team, ready."_ Stated Yuuki. _"I have news that the Rangers are in the AO and awaiting for us to strike. On my mark."_ He instructed.

Lightly ajusting his aim at Odagiri's direction, Tazaki spotted a Commandramon coming towards his teammates. He gently placed his index on the trigger, ready to pull at a moment's notice.

"I'll take care of the guard tower." Informed with a whisper Amari.

" _Go."_

On cue, the two marksmen opened fire, the rifles jerked up a little followed by a muffled gunfire. In a blink of an eye, the bullet went through the target's helmet, the force made his head jerk roughly to the side. Dropping in a heap, the breach team quickly started to cut through the metal fence.

"Two hostiles on the tower at my 11." Amari informed.

At the guard tower were a Troopmon and a Pumpmon, surveying the camp beneath them lazily. The marksmen silently took a target, Tazaki had his sights set on the living pumpkin digimon. He waited several seconds before firing two shots. The bullets flew swiftly and quietly in the dead of night. A bullet struck the digimon easily through its fabric-like torso, the other went to the head, exploding in a orange gore as bits of pumpkin splattered on the tower's glass window.

The Troopmon fell shortly after, a gaping hole at its left eye as blood poured out, indicating that it had the same fate as the other digimon.

"Assassin 2-1, this is Assassin 4-1, the entrance is clear, you may proceed." Informed Tazaki at the assault fireteam.

" _Ryokai. Moving."_

Below his reticule's field of view, he can see the assault team jogging at the entrance gates, kicked them open and started to sweep the barracks in the entrance. From the windows of the barracks, he can see bright flashes, indicating the use of flashbang grenades. Moments later, the team got out unscathe and proceeded to the next one.

" _This is Assassin 3-1, we've secured the generators and will be cutting the power off in 2 mikes. Over."_

" _Roga. To all Assassins, hold your grounds until the Rangers arrive."_ Instructed Yuuki.

"Looks like we're on guard duty now." Commented Amari with a sly smirk.

 _Somewhere in a dim lit room in a cave._

"Um... I spy with my little eyes the colour... orange."

Both Sora and T.K looked around the room for the specific colour announced by Taichi. After a few seconds, T.K stood up from his spot and answered proudly:

"It's Agumon!" Metionning the digimon sleeping next to Gabumon against the room's door.

"Damn it, I was going to ask that." Said Yamato as it was his turn to give a clue. "I spy with my little eyes..."

 _Outside of camp 105, near the cave's entrance._

"This is Hunter 2-1, all hostiles at the entrance have been neutralized. What's your status, Assassin 1-1?" Asked silently sergeant Foley.

" _The guards have been neutralized, we're cutting the power... now."_ Replied the team leader of the JSDF Special Forces Group and on cue, the power outside and inside the camp was cut off.

"Roger that, thanks for the help." The Ranger NCO said before he turned around to face his team.

"Listen up, we've got a few couple of hostiles to take care of in the caves and we've got 20 minutes before the evac comes here. Let's make this quick and silent. Time to use your NVGs, men." He informed them before using his radio. "Overlord, this is Sergeant Foley. We're entering the cave in a minute, expect some loss of communication, how copy?"

" _Solid copy, Hunter 2-1. Good luck and get those VIPs out safe and sound."_

"You heard the man, let's move out. Allen and Ramirez take point." He ordered as he loads another mag in his SCAR-H and puts on his nightvision goggles.

PV2. James Ramirez slowly opened the cave's entrance door and walked in silently with PFC. Joseph Allen beside him, soon followed by the rest of the Hunter team as they moved on cautiously. Through his NVGs, Ramirez could see the multiple laser dots of his fellow Rangers as they looked around to find the VIPs. He then heard a couple of voices coming down from the corridor they were in. He raised his fist up, signaling the rest of the team to hold position. He took aim through the holographic sight of his silenced M4A1 and waited for one the imperials to pop out. Two Commandramon turned towards their direction with their flashlights on. He fired a short burst at one of them, killing it swiftly and quietly and the other was shot by Allen before it could react. Once it was clear, they continued to move on, taking out silently any imperials they come across.

 _Back to the dim lit room._

"Was it 'darkness' that you were about to ask?" Asked sarcastically Gabumon.

"Uh? Did someone turned the lights off? Asked Agumon as he wakes up slowly, confused of the sudden darkness.

"I think the power ran off or maybe it was cut off." Considered stoically Yamato.

"Damn, and I was having so much fun." Grumbled his younger brother.

"Well, I guess we're playing the 'waiting game' now." Tai said with a small chuckle.

"Did you have to?" Groaned Yamato.

They all waited a few minutes in the dark and in silence before they all heard some yells and small explosions outside of their room. It sounded as if there was a commotion just next to them. They all rushed towards the door to get a better hearing at the other side of the door. They could hear some of the guards crying in agony while others yell for help or barking out orders. The ceiling shook as one of the guards probably launched an attack at their unknown aggressors. Soon, a small explosion erupted as the guards screamed in pain in response.

" _My eyes! I can't see!"_ Yelled a guard.

" _What?!"_ Shouted another.

But a second later, they heard nothing but bodies dropping on the floors. They then heard multiple footsteps approaching their door before they all backed out with their digimon partners in front of them ready to protect them. The aggressors tried a few times the door knob before resolving in pounding the door. The door bursts open violently as they were blinded by various sources of light and the silent room filled with shouts of the supposed aggressors.

 _10 minutes ago._

After taking out the fourth Commandramon they've encountered, Ramirez cautiously and silently moved on, leading the 12 men Ranger team. Beside him was Allen, who was being as cautious as him. With his vision completely dark green, he still has a hard time to get use to it, eventhough he had extensive use of his goggles during training. Suddenly, they heard someone barking out orders right around the corner at the end of the hall. He took cover, his back to the wall, and side steppeded until he was near the corner. Carefully peeking out, he spotted a Sealsdramon, two Troopmon and a Guardromon looking around their surroundings like blind people, except for the Sealsdramon.

Ramirez looked back at his teammates and informed them the hostile presences through hand signals. Responding back was Foley, who ordered Cpl. Mendoza to throw a frag grenade. The corporal took out the grenade, pulled the pin and hurled it around the corner. The hand grenade bounced off the wall and rolled right between the imperials. The Sealsdramon looked down and was about to scream before it detonated, killing three imperials and sent the Guardromon on the ground, his front armour dented and damaged. Ramirez and Allen sprung out of the corner and opened fire at the digimon, emptying their magazine on the heavily armoured digimon.

Once he was dealt with, they moved up to the door next to them. Just as Allen was about to kick it open, bullets bursted out from the otherside, peppering the door and almost hitting Allen. Shouting was heard on the otherside, Foley prepared a flashbang. He tossed it in the other hallway. The flashbang bursted brightly, deafening and blinding the imperials. Ramirez leaned to his right, spotting the four blinded imperials, and with the help of the laser, shot them twice on the chest to each of them. Their bodies dropped heavily before slowly turning into data particles.

Moving in to clear the hallway, Allen noticed another door and signaled Ramirez to prepare a breach and clear. They turned on the flashlight at the side of their handguard and prepared for the breach.

"U.S. Army!" Warned Ramirez and Allen as they entered the room after they kicked the door down.

Their flashlights blinded the occupants of the room. They noticed that there were humans and digimon in the room, all of them covering their eyes or raising their arms in the air with eyes closed.

Ramirez lowered his rifle and stepped towards one of the humans. He was a young teen, probably 19 years old or younger, spiky brown hair and a pair of light grey goggles around his neck, wearing a tattered white dress shirt, dusted black pants and sneakers. Ramirez took out a picture of the VIPs and compared the teen to the VIP.

"Are you Taichi Yagami?" He asked out loud in fluent japanese.

The teen simply nodded before he lend a hand out while the other covered his eyes, still a little bit dazed by the flashlights.

"Nice to meet you..." He greeted jokingly with a smirk on his face.

Ramirez laughed and shook the boy's hand happily. "Don't you worry, we're americans, we'll get you and your friends out of here." He informed him in japanese. "Sergeant Foley! We've got the VIPs!" He shouted back in english.

Soon after, the Rangers escorted the humans and their digimon partners outside of the cave as the evac helicopters arrived in time. The JSDF SFG then took the VIPs and led them to the Chinook before the rest of the rescue team got on board the other Chinook.

In the helicopter, while his friends where being taken care of by the JSDF, Taichi looked at the american soldier who rescued him and his friends. He lend out his hand at the soldier, who looked at him with a confused face when he shook his hand a second time.

"I want to thank you for rescuing us. It has been awhile that we've seen another human being, though I prefer a more friendly appearance..." He said with smile plastered on his face.

"No need to thank us, kid. We're soldiers, it's our duty." Stated Ramirez happily in japanese.

"Oh that reminds me. How do you speak japanese so well?" Taichi asked.

The Ranger rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Anime and manga. That's where I learned my japanese. I guess you can call me an otaku." He replied with an embarrassed smile.

They both laughed and soon talked again during the trip back to FOB Ginza.

Meanwhile with the Delta force rescue team, callsign "Tombstone", at the "Red District" of Monodramonville.

The 8 men team were being pinned down inside a local tavern, where the VIPs were being held by a local mercenary company. Ironically, that tavern was being under attack by a local gang mob. Tombstone and the hostages were being caught in a crossfire.

Mimi, Joe, Gomamon and Palmon hid behind the bar while the U.S. Special Forces stocked tables and chairs along the entrance door and windows for cover.

Staff Sergeant "Frost" and Corporal "Gator" were on the 2nd floor, taking out as much digimon as they possibly can. Frost loaded another magazine in his HK417 DMR before being called out by 1st Lt. "Reaper". He ran down the stairs and doved on the ground as an energy beam went through one of the windows and impacted in the restrooms behind him.

"Listen up! Evac is going to be here in a minute, Frost and Trojan will escort the VIPs through the back exit door , we will provide cover fire from here. Tell Gator to set up the C4 here."

"We're going to blow up this place?" Asked Cpl. "Hitman".

"That's right, Corporal. We're sending this place and those fuckers outside to hell." He replied with a satisfying smile, knowing that his men would also agree to this course of action.

On cue, Tombstone team could here the rotors of two BlackHawk helicopters, arriving at the LZ shortly.

"Fuck! Incoming!" Yelled out PFC. Trojan as a missile flew towards them and erupted on the second floor.

The building shook violently and dust covered the entire first floor. Moments later, Gator went down clumsily with his bag of C4 while holding on an injury on his face, his helmet was torn up in half.

"The...uh...C4 are okay, sir." The operator reported while looking around disoriented.

He was basically a mess compared to the other operators. His uniform and tactical vest were peppered and burnt. He was covered in blood and ash as he suffered from his injuries.

The lieutenant walked to him and talked to him softly while setting him next a wall and told him take a rest for awhile. The bloodied soldier reluctantly obliged and slumped down against the wall, his eyes slowly drooping out of exhaustion. Reaper took the bag and tossed it at Hitman.

"You'll do the honours." He said, hinting the corporal to set the explosives. "Preacher and Archer, give us some cover. Frost and Trojan, help me out with evacuating the civvies and Gator."

The men nodded and went to their task. As Hitman sets up the demolitions in some places, Spc. Preacher and Cpl. Archer fired bursts of 7.62mm rounds and launching 40mm grenades respectively.

Meanwhile, Frost led the civilians through the backdoor while Trojan and Reaper helped Gator to walk out.

One of the civilians, the tall teenager, probably 18 or 19 years old, wearing a pair of glasses, a white dress shirt with a light green tie, gray pants and black shoes, all covered in dust; looked over at Gator with a worried face before he spoke up to Frost.

"Shouldn't he need immediate medical attention?" He asked with an accented english.

"Don't worry, he may beaten up but this is nothing compared to his previous injuries. He's tough and one lucky basterd." Replied Frost with a confident smile behind his black balaclava.

Joe gazed at Gator for a second before leaving the building with Frost and the others. Wind started to kick up as the helicopters hovered a few feet above the ground. Frost hurried the civilians to go on board the transport helo. He then crouched down with his weapon drawn up, surveying the perimeter as Trojan and Reaper placed Gator in the BlackHawk. Reaper ordered the two operators to get in the helicopter with the VIPs while the others will take the second one. Once everyone was on board the first transport, it slowly flew upwards. Soon later, the rest of Tombstone team went in the second helo quickly, avoiding projectiles, energy beams and other attacks as they began to hover out of the perimeter. A minute later, Hitman detonated the C4, a fiery explosion erupted within the tavern as it engulfed the misfortuned ones in a blazing show of fire and debris scattering around itself.

" _Overlord, this is Tombstone 1-1, the civilians had been successfully evacuated, all fine and healthy however we have an operator who needs medical attention real soon, how copy?_ " Reported Reaper through the radio.

" _Solid copy, Tombstone. Get yourselves some chow and some rest once you arrive at the FOB, you've earned it."_ Announced Overlord.

Frost took off his tactical helmet, goggles and balaclava. Breathing in the fresh air, he felt for the first time in a long time relax as he stares in admiration the sunrise behind the multiple grassy plains and lush forests of the DigiWorld. Eventhough he just went through an intense mission, the adredaline that used to take hours to fade away during the ops back on Earth, vanished in seconds once he lay his eyes on the environment around him in this world, the beautiful landscapes made him feel relax and at peace, as if all the chaos he'd been through was just a terrible nightmare.

"I hope we can stay here for awhile..." He murmured softly, wondering if maybe for once peace may actually be real and not some optimistic idea.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Sorry for the little late update but the good news is that now I'm on holiday, which means I can focus more on the story and maybe post 2 chapters per week. Yay! Or maybe not for some of you...**

 **I'm actually quite surprise that some people actually favourite and/or follow the story and to them I want to say a BIG Thank you! Really, I appreciate it alot and it gives me some morale boost to keep up with the story.**

 **So thank you to everyone who took their time (or maybe not, I dunno...) to read this. Feel free to review, I'm open to all criticism.**


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

Camaraderie

 _D-DAY +50, September 20th 2017, FOB Ginza._

With the Dramon Republic liberated and the missing children rescued, the IDDF made a general order to all forces to hold the assault for two weeks, giving enough time for the soldiers to rest and the IDDF to re-organise with the Royal Knights in the security of the Dramon Republic.

Meanwhile at FOB Ginza, the Digital marines and a battalion of the JGSDF were enjoying their time. The sun shone warmly and the wind blew calmly, encouraging a majority of the soldiers stationed in the FOB to pass their time outside to workout, play around or simply relax.

Renamon and Raymond were eating at the newly built exterior cafeteria installed just outside of the mess hall where soldiers could eat outside and enjoy the view. Near the cafeteria is a workout zone where some marines were doing physical training with the sun bathing them.

Coincidently, Guilmon was working out at the same time as Renamon and Raymond were eating their meal. While the red dino lifted up some weights, Renamon stared at him with enjoyment as she gazes at his bare naked muscular chest and broad shoulders.

"You seem to enjoy the view." Coughed up Raymond in front of her.

The yellow fox shook out of her dreamy gaze and looked down in embarrassment. She lightly kicked Stephen under the table when he started laughing.

"It's not what it looks" She began but the human's face says he won't believe any lies she'll come up with. "Maybe a little but that's not the point."

"Then why are you staring at him for the past five minutes other than he's your boyfriend?"

"How did-" She asked with widened eyes and a red face.

"Everyone knows about it. It's so easy to see that you two are in a relationship." Replied Stephen with an amused grin.

She stared at him dumbfounded before deciding to steer away the conversation to another subject, though Stephen wasn't going to let her.

"How long have you known him?"

"About three years now. Why do you ask?" She asked, a bit perplex at Stephen's sudden interest of her private life.

"I find it interesting that you two are a couple. I mean, you're both complete opposites." He explained to her.

Renamon rested her chin on her hand as she ponders to explain Stephen her attraction to Guilmon. Of course to her, he was perfect but now that Stephen metionned them being opposites, she started to mentally list down all the traits that made her fell in love with the dino digimon.

"Well, there is the fact that I admire him for his courage..." She started off, a small grin slowly creeping on her lips. "I respect him for his noble resolve to always protect his friends. Then I always find his childish side... adorable. His laugh is infectious. His golden eyes quite mesmerizing. And what I love the most about him is his smile. Always bright and charming."

Stephen simply chuckled, noticing that Renamon was now blushing.

"What's so funny?" The vixen asked nervously.

"I find it funny that the stone-cold and fierce Renamon actually has a soft heart behind the intimidating facade." He answered sincerely.

Renamon's blush turned redder while giggling a little in embarrassement, though the smile never left her faced.

"You should smile more." Stephen advised her casually. "It's beautiful. Use your intimidation against the enemy, not us." He joked.

"T-thanks, it means a lot for me." She said gratefully.

"Not to mention that you have the most beautiful eyes in the whole world." Guilmon complimented behind her, startling Stephen from appearing out of the blue, or red in his case. "Oooh! Can I have that sandwich?" He begged with childish eyes as he took a seat next to his sweetheart.

Guilmon was now wearing a khaki t-shirt with a small towel hanging from one of his shoulders.

"Sure..." She replied as she handed him her ham sandwich. She would rather drink the energy drink than eat for now.

"Looks like the kids are also enjoying their time here." Stated Stephen, mentioning the group of 8 tamers, walking up the small wooden steps of the new cafeteria. " Let's make some friends, shall we?" He added before waving at the group with a friendly smile, mentioning them to sit with them at the long picnic table.

They hesistated for a moment before joining with the three marines at the table. They greeted each other, the marines giving them an air of familiarity, easing them a little.

"So, what do you guys want ?" Asked Stephen, looking over the teenagers. They stayed silent for a few moments, not knowing what to order.

"Don't worry, we won't serve you any MREs, those things are really bad." He informed them with a sheepish laugh. "How about some ice cream?" He proposed and as a response Hikari and Mimi lit up like Christmas trees and begged like children. Stephen laughed before taking a mental note of their orders, soon the others followed suit.

After that the ice creams were ordered and served to the children, the group passed the rest of the afternoon chatting happily, for once the tamers felt like were not, at least, in a hostile and foreign environment.

Later in the afternoon, Renamon was in the break room in the barracks, a room dedicated for soldiers to simply rest and take a drink or watch TV or even play video games.

She took an energy drink and walked towards the couch facing the TV screen. Flamedramon and Renamon's spotter and friend, Lcpl. Gary "Roach" Sanderson, were both playing a video game, their eyes glued to the screen and their minds heavily focused on the game. Renamon plummeted down ungracefully on the side of the couch, pushing the two gamers with her legs so she could have enough space to lay down. However they didn't seemed to be fazed by her presence or by her ungraceful attitude. She stares at the screen with a bland look, occasionally sipping her drink and giving some tips to the gamers, and some teasing. She let out a loud burp without feeling embarrassed since most of the marines knew her lazy side. However for the two who just entered the break room, it was quite a shock.

"Oh my, I didn't know a Renamon could be like that..." Stated one of the visitors.

Renamon, Flamedramon, Roach and some of marines looked towards the entrance and immediately stood straight and firmly saluted. Meanwhile Flamdramon and Roach were having a hard time trying to suppress their laughter as Renamon's face turned 50 shades of red. Behind Stephen were Magnamon and UlforceVeedramon.

"Get use to it, guys, she has always been like that in the break room." He informed the two Royal Knights with a mocking smile. "Welp, I'll need to go back to briefing, you boys play nice with each other now." He added and walked out before Renamon could give him a death glare.

With the Lieutenant leaving the room, the two different groups were staring at each other in an awkward silence before a private broke the ice.

"You guys are Royal Knights, uh? So what... you drink tea with your pinkie out and save damsels in distress." Stated the marine sarcastically, earning a round of laughter from the others.

UlforceVeedramon simply shrugged before he replied with a smug smirk.

"Something like that but at least we have fangirls, unlike you."

The marine was stunned while the others laughed at him. However, instead of being angry and fire back, he simply walked to the Royal Knights and lend out a hand.

"Private 1st class Sebastian "SeaSalt" Salt, happy to meet you." He greeted with a friendly attitude.

"Just call me "Ulforce", glad we're on the same team." He greeted back while shaking the private's hand.

Meanwhile with Stephen, he was walking down the hallway until he heard the angry and stern voice of Colonel Eversman. He entered the briefing room and watched intently and at attention while the colonel was on the phone.

"What the hell do you mean "they didn't tell me anything"? How come _your_ government haven't informed you that there are 8 missing children?! What if they are more out there?! I mean they went missing for weeks for Christ's sake! We can't afford to split our forces and retrieve civilians left and right in _this_ world!" He snarled through the phone. He listened for a little moment to the responder before he let out a frustrated sigh.

"Yeah whatever, Hazama. Just get me informed next time if we still have some missing civilians to find." He added and hung up the phone.

He looked up at Alphamon, Omegamon and Duftmon with an apologitic look."I'm deeply sorry you had to listen through all that, it's been quite a frustrating week."

Alphamon laughed sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head with his armored glove.

"No need to apologise, Colonel. We've all been through that."

Eversman only nodded then noticed that Raymond was present in the briefing room.

"Ah I see you've arrived Lieutenant. Meet the Royal Knights' tactician, Duftmon."

"Sir." Saluted Raymond while the brown knight simply nodded in acknowledgement.

He then looked between Cpt. Richards and the colonel. "Remind me why I'm the only one here and not the other officers ?" He asked sheepishly.

"Well Lieutenant, first off: you're the first human being to have made contact with the Knights and you're Richards' best man so they have more trust in you than in anyone else. And secondly, you'll be the one to spearhead the next assault with elements of Force Recon and the Aerial Strike force." He replied before letting Duftmon explain the plan to Raymond.

Thus, in a few days, the Digital marines will begin their first mission with the Royal Knights. Two different species and military forces will need to cooperate and using each other's strong points while taking in account their weaknesses. Only in battle will they know if they will succeed or suffer heavy losses.

The recent events had took a toll in Renamon's general personality. After going through the rigorous training of Force Recon and fighting through previous battles, she began to be more open, to show more emotions than a Renamon should. She didn't know if this was due to stress or simply she isn't use to work with a team. She pushed these thoughts away, now was not the time to have some doubts.

Sitting cross-legged on her bed, she tapped her fingers against her legs impatiently, the laptop screen in front of her was the source of her current anxiety. With a frutrated breath she picked up a water bottle beside her bed and chugged it quickly.

"For fuck's sake! We're in the DigiWorld! Wi-fi should be good!" She complained out loud. Swearing was another thing she picked up from the marines.

Facing her bed was Gary's bed. He and Guilmon were playing poker idly. Gary looked up from his cards with a small smile.

"Welcome to the suck, ma'am." He commented jokingly.

"Relax, Rika won't be angry at you because of bad connection." Considered calmly Guilmon, trying the defuse Renamon's rant.

She muttered something under her breath and tried to recall her family. The Skype call kept ringing for another half hour, each minutes felt like wasted hours for the fox digimon, until the call was finally answered. Appearing on the screen were four familiar faces, all huddled close around the relatively small screen. From left to right: Rumiko, Takato, Rika and Seiko, all cheered once the call worked. Upon hearing the cheers, Guilmon jumped out of Gary's bed and rushed beside Renamon, relieved and happy that he can talk with his tamer after several months of absent communications.

"Sorry for the slight blurry screen, connection is really bad here." Renamon informed them.

" _That's okay, Renamon. We're just happy to see you and Guilmon are still alive!"_ Responded Rumiko before Rika scolded her.

" _So how are things? If you're allowed to say some that is..."_ Takato chuckled nervously.

" _Really, Takato?!"_

" _What? It's not like I know how the military works."_

"Things got hectic but hey, we managed." Answered Guilmon truthfully.

" _What do you mean "Hectic"?!"_ Asked surprisingly Rumiko and Rika. Renamon face-palmed in disappointment at Guilmon's poor choice of words.

"Well at least we're on break now." Added Renamon to ease her "mother" and her tamer.

" _Oh thank god! Anyways, I'll love to stay and talk more with you, Renamon, but Seiko and I need to go shopping for clothes. Have fun, kids."_ Rumiko waved goodbye before she left with Seiko tailing behind her.

To both Renamon's and Guilmon's surprise the conservation started off pleasantly without a single mention of their current situation in the war. They talked, joked and laughed together for quite some time, eased out from the stress and apprehension of war. The video chat ended an hour later, much to their dismay but they had a job to do and they need their rest; and also because Guilmon need to get out of Renamon's squad's sleeping quarters and go back to his.

Opening the door to him, she stopped him and scouted out, turning her head left and right in the hallways. Once it was deemed clear, Guilmon was about to walk out until he felt a soft paw holding one of his claws. He turned around and immediately received a strong kiss on the lips from Renamon before being lightly shoved out of the quarters. He stood in the middle of the hallway, shock etched across his face but was shortly followed with a smile as he walks back to his quarters.

 _September 21st, 0600 hours, Refugee barracks._

White lights suddenly blared the whole room, disturbing their sleep instantly. Izumi heard Taichi yelping beside his bed before he heard a heavy thud. He figured that Tai fell from his bed during his agitation.

He groggily sat up and rubbed his eyes lazily trying to adjust to the bright lights. He then looked around and saw that his friends and their digimon were also in the same state. He looked to the right, where the entrance door was located, and spotted three JSDF soldiers and a man with a black business suit, flickering with seems to be a ligther in his right hand.

"I am sorry to wake you all this early in the morning," Started 1st Lieutenant Akira Yanagida with a neutral face. "But the good news is that you'll all be going home in just 2 hours. So pack your things up and meet me back outside in the courtyard after breakfast." He then muttered a few words with the man in the suit before they left.

Everyone had their eyes widened in surprise and disbelief. They had expected to go home but not this soon; especially not without the soldiers ever interrogating or apprehending their digimon partners. There was a moment of silence in the room as they gathered their thoughts, before they jumped out of their beds and rushed to pack whatever personal belongings they still have with them.

After they have gathered their belongings in the military deployment duffle bag given to each of them, and after a shower and change of clothes, they headed to the base's mess hall to get breakfast.

The mess hall and the cafeteria outside of it were surprisingly bustling with hundreds of soldiers, each of them quickly ate their meals before starting their daily tasks. Tables were filled and emptied at a quick rate.

The tamers in the meantime ate at a moderate rate, however they were impatient, excited yet anxious and nervous. What will happen to them later back on Earth? Will they be able to go back to their normal lives or will they be questionned by numerous governmental agents? Or will their digimon friends be able to stay with them? Only time can tell as they finish up their meals and get ready to move out.

Standing straight in front of their barracks, they all lined up shoulder-to-shoulder with their digimon in front of them and their packs behind them. Facing them was Lieutenant Yanagida, the man in the suit from this morning and a dozen of heavily armed and heavily armoured soldiers.

The soldiers were covered from head to toe in black uniform. Their faces covered by combat shades and balaclava, their hands gripping firmly their rifles. It was truly a menacing sight for the tamers eventhough they were informed that they were their bodyguards.

The teenagers themselves wore the standard issue JGSDF attire: Type II Flecktarn camouflage long sleeve shirt and combat pants and combat boots type 2.

Yanagida took a step forward and saluted them before he cleared his throat. "Before I bid you farewell, I would like to introduce you to this man;" He announced as he faces the civilian man. "Mr. Mitsuo Yamaki, Head of the Hypnos agency. He will be, for awhile, taking care of you, protecting you from the media and other unwanted "guests". As you may have guessed, the world now knows about the digimons and their presences there and such people might get to know more about them. It is for your own safety that you will follow his orders and advices, to help you live normally with your daily lives without the media breathing down your necks. Now with that said, I wish you all a safe travel and good luck." He gave one last salute before turning around and shook Yamaki's hand.

Five armoured vehicles arrived in the courtyard and the black operatives sprung to action like drones, opening the doors for the civilians and ushering them to move quickly. In a matter of seconds, the convoy drove off and headed towards the base's airfield where a Kawasaki C-1 aircraft awaited them to transport them back to Camp _Dawnstar_ , the final trip before home.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

Combine Forces

 _September 29th 2017, Londreau, UDC._

What was once a beautiful, clear blue sky was soon dotted with various military aircrafts dawning upon the city of Londreau. Imperial forces had already suffered heavy casualties caused by IDDF artillerie and aerial bombardments. Marines were on board Venoms, BlackHawks and the newly arrived MV-22 Ospreys. On land, the grassy plains were filled with hundreds of heavily armoured vehicles, rushing straight at the city.

Raymond sat on the edge of the Venom, his feet casually swinging in the air. On the west part of the city, he could see several flying digimon of the Aerial Strike force diving in the city. He let out one deep sigh and loads up a fresh mag in his M4A1. He did a quick inspection to his equipement before he heard his radio buzzing to life.

" _This is Super 6-2, be advised: we're taking fire here..."_ Announced a pilot of a BlackHawk.

" _Roger that, Super 6-2. We've got small arms fires and rockets down there."_ Reported a pilot of a Viper attack helicopter.

" _This is Striker 1-1, we've got visual on multiple hostiles, permission to go clean that up, how copy."_

" _Solid copy, Striker 1-1. All Strikers, you have green light to engage hostiles."_

With the order given, the Vipers fan out of the main force and began their rain of death; bullets and rockets struck down the enemy, the shower of hot lead and explosives resulted in destruction and death on its path.

" _Feet on ground in 10 seconds."_

Raymond signaled Dukeman to prepare the rope to rappel down the transport.

" _5 seconds"_

The UH-1 Bell Venom hovered above a specific location and shifted to the left to give enough space for the marines to rappel down.

" _Standby for greenlight..."_

"Down the ropes! Go! Go! Go!" Shouted Raymond as marines began to pour in the city. He was the last one down before the transport helo flew off back to the FOB.

"1st and 2nd squad on me! 3rd and 4th squad move up to RDV point Bravo! I want a machine gun nest up and ready." He ordered as they fan out to different directions in the streets. As the 1st and 2nd squad pushed through the city, they came up to enemy fire from several meters away.

"Hit the deck!" Yelled Dukeman.

The marines doved behind any cover they could find. Though it was easy to say than done. Bullets snapped near them on the asphalt as the sound of machine guns erupted in a terrifying symphony.

"1st squad, get suppression fire on that building! 2nd squad on me, door breach, stack up!" Raymond ordered through his radio.

Once the 1st squad suppressed the enemy, Raymond and 2nd squad ran towards the targeted building and stacked up behind the door. He signaled Jackson to kick the door down.

The private stepped in front of the door and bashed it down with one strong kick. The others rapidly went in and proceeded through the hallway. They could here above them multiple voices and heavy guns firing. They silently went up the stairs, with Lcpl. Sanborn on point. They arrived at the second floor, they took the turn to the right and spotted two Commandramon with their backs at them, for now they have not been spotted by the enemy. They stealthly approached the two imperials. The hallway continued to the right and there was small room filled with small desks and chairs and a black board at the end of the room. The marines assumed they were in a school and Raymond ordered three marines to use the classroom to cut through the middle of the next hallway. They followed his instructions, Raymond leading the three others. He signaled PFC. Blake Imlay and PFC. Jake Lopez to get ready to shoot on his mark. Raymond prep up a flashbang grenade and quietly counted down for the squad to strike.

On '1', he lunged the flashbang at the other side of the hallway while both Imlay and Lopez killed the two Commandramon . Once the flashbang went out, blinding six imperials, the others cleared out the hallway.

"Hallway clear!" Announced Sanborn.

"1st squad, this is 2nd squad, the building has been cleared. Keep moving towards the objective. We need to push through and meet up with 1st Recon." He gave the order through the radio.

After the squads were linked up in the street, they pushed forward. Crossing streets and alleyways, only receiving little resistance from the enemy. So far everything was according to plan.

They entered in an open market place. The stands were abandonned, their owners leaving behind their products. The sun shined through the various colorful rugs hanging above each stand, coloring the market place.

The marines fan out and made a defensive perimeter. The market place was surrounded by small stone houses, with only two entrance points. One leads to the main street and the other led to a small alleyway which is connected to another block.

Firefights could be faintly heard all around them, which intensified when the armoured division rolled in. Jets and helicopters sometime flew pass above as the enemy try desperately to gain air power.

Meanwhile the 1st squad was sweeping through a house, the 2nd squad was holding their position outside. After clearing the first floor, they went up the stairs and started to clear the second floor. Chaffin kicked down the door and went in after Cobbly. With their weapons drawn, they did a quick search until they spotted a sturdy wooden ladder that leads up the rooftop.

"Found a way up, Staff Sergeant!" Shouted Chaffin.

Dukeman came in and decided to go up. He told Cobbly to call up the lieutenant and continued to climb up. Once on the roof, he looked around him. Luckily it was empty, for now. He looked behind him, at the streets they came from.

He could see attack jets flying down, spewing out 30mm rounds, destroying everything in their way. Attack helicopters were doing strafing runs, raining down rockets and heavy machine gun bullets, the shower of death resulted in clouds of black smoke and explosions erupting on the ground level.

"Find anything, Staff Sergeant?" Asked Raymond as he climbed up to the roof.

Dukeman nodded and pointed at him the taller ladder leading up to another, higher roof of another adjacent building.

"I think this one can give us a better field of view on the target building, sir." He guessed as he helped two marines to climb on the roof.

"Alright then, let's move up." He announced as he readjusted his M4A1 strapped around him.

The four marines reached up the other rooftop and proceeded closer the edge while crawling. Ahead of them was the other side of the city, plunged in chaotic firefights in every street. To their right, 300 meters away, was their target building, or buildings in this case. It was an university which consisted of four large buildings, a enormous gym, two (human) olympic size tracking fields, a small green park and a cafeteria. All of these were stretched in a 8 300 square meters area, built on a hill of 24 meters in height.

Raymond took out a pair of binoculars and examined the area. With the main entrance gates at the other side of the university, Raymond was relieved that the back entrance gate was left unguarded due to its smaller size, but big enough to allow marines to go through. He brought up his radio and turned it on.

"Echo 1-3, this is Echo 1, what's your status with 1st Recon?"

" _We're linked up with 1st Recon Bravo Company and we are currently on foot to the university, over."_ Replied Sergeant Flamedramon.

" _This is Stalker 1-1, we're moving to your position on your six, tell your men to hold their fire."_ Announced a Staff Sergeant of the Digital Marines' 1st Recon task force.

Raymond told Dukeman to give the order to the rest of the squad. On cue, a 10 marine sniper team arrived at the market place. Raymond and Dukeman joined up with the snipers inside the house.

"Staff Sergeant David Marcus of 1st Recon, sir." Snapped the young NCO at Raymond's attention. Raymond casually returned the salute before he gave a nod of acknowledgement at two members he knows personally: Sgt. Renamon and Lcpl. Sanderson.

"Aren't you supposed to assist the main force ?" He asked at the team leader.

"Indeed, sir. But Command sent us to help you instead, thinking you'll need all the help you can get to take that university." Replied bluntly Marcus.

"I guess the more the merrier. Anyways, we appreciate the help, we've just found a sniper spot on top of the roof of the other building." Informed the Lieutenant. "And in this case, Dukeman pass him the PLD." He ordered.

Dukeman nodded and handed to Marcus a Portable Laser Designator. "In case you need something with a heavier firepower to take out hostile tanks." He added.

"Thanks. Oh, and by the way, I'm handing you two of my best marines: Renamon and Roach. They've volunteered to be your designated marksmen." Marcus told to Raymond before the teams went on their ways and prepare themselves for the upcoming firefight.

The assault team, which consisted of 1st and 2nd squad with the two recon marines, carefully walked through the alleyway and later found themselves out on the streets again. With no holstile forces in sight, they quickly crossed the street and headed towards the small stone path that led to the back entrance of the university. With the fence tangled with flowers and bushes covering one side, a tall stone covering the other and the tall trees towering over them, the assault team 'dissapeared' from the sniper team's sight. As they neared the back gate, Raymond's radio sprunged to life as Marcus quietly calls him.

" _Be advised, we've just spotted a huge group of aerial digimon descending upon the target area, they could be the Royal Knights' Strike Force, how copy?"_

"Solid copy, thanks for the heads up." Replied Raymond.

Soon they heard multiple explosions and attacks further ahead in the area. The marines silently opened the gate and moved through the open garden. With the battle ahead of them intensified, the assault team began to jog lightly to assist the Strike Force.

"Fan out, three meters distance, hustle up, ladies!" Barked Dukeman as they could see the battle unfolding in front of them.

Raymond halted the team and gave the order to hold ground, their weapons were raised but they couldn't identify friend or foe. They simply stare at the battle in an uncomfortable and awkward silence.

Suddenly, a huge long golden dragon flew pass their heads and landed in front of them. The winged serpentine-like digimon, wielding two swords and clad from head to toe in golden armour, its frightening appearance made the humans gazed at the digimon in awe. It quickly looked at them before it spoke up in its deep, resounding voice.

"Which one of you is Leftenant Raymond?" He asked.

Raymond got up, quickly walked up to the dragon and sharply saluted him.

"2nd Lieutenant Raymond of Echo company, 1st Digital Marines." He stated.

"Captain OuRyuumon of the Strike Force." He answered back with the salute. "Now can you tell me why aren't you helping my soldiers?" He sneered closely at Raymond, but he seemed unfazed.

"We can't identify from friend to foe, Captain." Raymond stated as matter-of-factly.

"Right, I forgot you guys aren't digimon. Just shoot at any cyborg foot mobiles." He informed Raymond with a growl before he flew towards the melee battle.

Raymond ran back to the team and issued out the info. "He's a nice lad." He murmured sarcastically.

With the info given out, the marines immediately opened fire at any mechanical-like and on foot digimon. Firing in short burst, they quickly took out a chunk of the imperial forces, who ignored them until they were fired upon. Some imperials try to fire back but were killed by the Strike Force. Seeing as the imperial force were starting to retreat, Raymond decided that they should take the initiative.

"Advance! On my lead!" He shouted before he stood up and continued to lay down fire while walking.

The assault team followed suit, the line of marines and their constant fire suppressed and forced the imperials to retreat further in the university. However the combined force charge was soon halted when two Tankdramon showed up from the main entrance gates and fired back.

"Ah fuck. Marines, on me! Let the Strike Force handle the infantry, we'll take care of the armour." He ordered out.

While the marines took their positions in the track field, Raymond tried to catch OuRyuumon's attention. The Captain of the Strike Force realized that the marines changed position and looked behind him to see Raymond making hand gestures at him. The marine pointed at himself then at the incoming Tankdramon, signaling OuRyuumon that they'll handle them. The golden dragon gave him a firm nod and in returned received a thumbs up from Raymond.

"Echo 1-3, where the fuck are you?!" Shouted the platoon officer on the radio while he sprinted through the small grassy field to the tracks to regroup with his marines.

"Chaffin, Sanborn! Take the ATs and aim for the warheads at their front! The rest of you, aim for the head. Let's blind these fuckers!" He barked out as the assault team opened fire at the Tankdramon faces, effectively distracting and blinding them.

Chaffin and Sanborn moved up a little before taking their positions and aimed carefully at their target.

"Backblast clear! Firing!" Yelled Chaffin before firing the AT4-CS at one of the massive living tanks.

Sanborn fired shortly after. The two 84mm unguided warheads hit their intended targets, blowing the Tankdramon missile stack in front of them. The detonation engulfed the two tank digimon in an explosive inferno, in the end leaving nothing but craters and particles of data.

" _Echo 1, this is Anvil 1-3, we're here to kick some ass, friendlies at your six."_

The assault team turned around after they heard the back gate crashing and cheered at the arriving tanks and marines, rushing towards the battlefield. Sergeant Flamedramon and 1st Lieutenant Vasquez of 1st Force Recon marines, Bravo Company went up to Raymond and gave him a quick salute.

"3rd and 4th squad reporting for duty, sir!" Stated Flamedramon before Vasquez spoke up.

"1st Force Recon at your service, hope you don't mind us bringing some of our friends." He said, metionning the 3 M1 Abrams tanks.

"Not at all, sir. Shoot at any cyborg foot mobiles and armours." Raymond informed them.

Officers and NCOs gave out orders as they pushed up the imperials along with the Strike Force. Tank H.E shells flew across the battlefield while small and large firearms rounds whizzed at the enemy infantry. With the increasing size and firepower of the allied combine force, the marines took the advantage to flank and surround the imperials.

Raymond's platoon and the M1 Abrams callsigned "Bone Crusher", took the left flank, cutting off the enemy retreating in the forest located on the left side of the university. Meanwhile, 1st Force Recon took the right flank to capture the gym.

The 1st platoon of Echo company continued to pursue the enemy through the forest. Now with decent cover, the marines hid behind trees and took positions to open fire at the weakened enemy force. 40 mm H.E grenades rained down on them, taking out those who tried to fight back. However, their assault was all of the sudden halted when they started to take incoming fire from a large group of Assaultmon and Commandramon.

"Ah shit! Hit the deck! Enemy reinforcements!" Shouted Flamedramon as he doved for the ground, avoiding a few rounds that hit the dirt near him.

A group of five Assaultmon neared the marines and simultanously launched their attacks.

"Justice Strike!" They shouted furiously as their dual wield miniguns, hip machineguns and back machineguns spew out storms of bullets, pinning and taking out marines.

"Fuck! Sanborn's hit!" Yelled Flamedramon as the Lance Corporal lied in agony behind him, trying to keep pressure on his multiple wounds to the chest, legs and arms.

"Bone Crusher, I want you to take out those bastards! 50 meters on our twelve!"

With the coordinates given by Raymond, the tank fired back with all of its weapons. The .50 cal rounds and H.E shells quickly disposed most of the advancing imperial assault group.

" _Echo 1, this is Bravo 6, we've captured the gym and enemy forces are retreating to the front entrance, what's your status?"_ Radio-ed in to Raymond.

"We're taking some fire but they are retreating as well, however we need a corpsman ASAP." He requested.

" _I'll try to call a medivac. Should we pursue them?"_

"Negative, our orders are to take and hold the area."

" _Roger that, we'll prepare defensive positions from west to north. Bravo 6 out."_

With the imperials now on the run and out of the area, Raymond gave out the order to cease fire. Some marines laughed and cheered in joy, relieved that they are alive to fight another day. Raymond sat beside a tree, his back resting on it. He took off his helmet and ballistic shades and breathed out in relief. He closed his eyes for a moment until he heard heavy foot steps stopping in front of him. He opened them and looked up to face the tall dragon as he looked back with a glare.

"Taking a rest now, Leftenant?" He asked.

Raymond lazily smiled at him before he replied.

"Well, when your fighting in a war where your protection can't protect much and that your weapon isn't as lethal as you wished, and that the entire world expects of you to succeed in battle with minimal casualties, it's quite frustrating. So yes, captain, I'm taking a rest. You can join me if you want." Raymond looked up at OuRyuumon and did a mock salute.

He expected the dragon to lash out and yell angrily at him but instead, his once furious glare softened but swore under his breath.

"Listen, Leftenant, I want to thank you for helping us back there and that you humans are here to help us." He extended his clawed hand at Raymond. "Now come on, we've got a base to defend."

Raymond reluctantly took his hand before been lifted to his feet. They both nodded at each other before Raymond started to re-equip himself. OuRyuumon just stared at him curiously as the human officer puts on his shades, helmet and lifted his scarf to cover half of his face. He then took out the mag on his rifle, made a quick check, re-inserted it and let the rifle hang on his side.

"Dukeman, call Command and tell them we need ammo quickly if Duftmon wants this place in our hands." He ordered before looking back at the dragon. "Captain." He sharply saluted before he joined up with the other marines.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

M.I.A.

The battle raged on as night envelops the DigiWorld in darkness. The city was lit up brightly through the night. The sound of gunfire and explosions could be heard from nearby towns while burning buildings and thick smoke could be seen from miles away.

While the marines and the Strike Force led the offensive, behind the firefights was a company of U.S Army 11th Infantry Division, sent to aid and evacuate the civilians out of the city. Helicopters flew back and forth between the FOB and the city as they carry supplies and evacuate the increasing numbers of wounded soldiers. Meanwhile on the ground, the Army infantrymen escorted the civilians out of the city to a medical camp established outisde.

Pvt 1st class Jack Quinlan was watching over the lines of civilians as a sentry, his M4A1 held firmly in his hands. The sounds of the distant battlefields made him nervous, fearing that the marines were being pushed back. Although he didn't want civilians to die, he was not ready to die either. This is his first combat deployment, though he liked the scenery the Digital World held, he would rather be in Syria like he was supposed to before the battle of Tokyo.

"Quinlan, come on. We've got new orders." Called Corporal and combat medic Blake Ryan.

The young private shook out of his gaze and ran up with his friend. They joined up with the rest of squad, all of them made a school circle around Sergeant William Kimbles as he showed them a map of the city laid on the humvee's hood.

"We've just got orders from command that a marine tank, callsign "Warpig", is stuck deep in mud in the middle of enemy territory, we've been tasked to escort a team of combat engineers and cover them until they get the tank out of there. A small team of marines is already present on the site but they can't hold much longer. We'll use the Mark 19 and the .50 cals to give us the upper hand and superior firepower. Let's make this quick so we can end this fight once and for all. Hooah?"

"Hooah!" They all replied before they went in their vehicles.

In the lead Humvee there was PV2. Jonathan Miller as the driver, the sergeant in the front passenger seat, Ryan in the back passenger seat and Quinlan on the M2 Browning .50 caliber machine gun.

Behind the lead humvee was the humvee operating the MK 19 grenade launcher, manned by Cpl. Jesse Mears, and the last humvee behind it had the M2 Browning handled by PFC. Bryan Wayne.

As the small 12 men convoy moved through the ruined city, Quinlan made a few quick checks on the heavy machine gun. After the inspection, he placed the .50 BMG rounds on the belt feed slide, closed the cover and pulled the bolt handle, the weapon ready to unleash its powerful and painful stopping power. He carefully scanned his surroundings on the ground and on the destroyed buildings, aiming the weapon in every direction behind the high steel plates with bullet-proof windows.

"See anything, Quinlan?" Asked loudly Kimbles.

"No, sir. I wish I had my NVGs with me now." Complained the private.

Before Quinlan can add more complaints, he heard several loud, ponding sounds and followed by eerie whistles coming from above.

"Ah fuck! Incoming!" He yelled as artillery shells erupted near the convoy, throwing the vehicles off balance.

The vehicles sped through the damaged street, hoping the bombardment would stop. Eventually it did but the convoy received heavy enemy fire instead.

Bullets ricocheted off the steel plates while Quinlan fired the M2 Browning, giving cover fire for his fellow comrades to evacuate the humvee. He fired upon the distant muzzle flashes of the imperials. Mears pounded them with the deadly 40mm grenades, small eruptions blew up parts of buildings and the street, leaving craters and rubbles on the ground. With the help of the tracer rounds, Quinlan knew where his shots went to. The rest of the squad hid behind the vehicles, firing back at the imperial forces with machine guns and small arms fire.

Through the iron sights, Quinlan fired in short bursts at each muzzle flash that caught his attention. Suddenly, he saw at the corner of his eyes a Tankmon behind a destroyed building, aiming its main gun straight at him.

"Tankmon, 100 meters, 1 o'clock!" He yelled before it open fired.

The shell flew across the street and impacted just below the lead humvee. Quinlan felt the vehicle rise up before it flipped violently to its side, throwing the private on the hard stone ground. Quinlan could hear bells ringing in his head while the sounds around him were somehow muted. He was laid down on his back, the impact made him feel numb for a minute. He groggingly stood back up, he looked around him, trying to stand correctly.

Suddenly another explosion erupted next to him, blowing up the humvee with the MK-19, killing Mears and lit the three others on fire. Feeling nauseous and disoriented, he fell to his knees while he could hear the muffled screams of his friends being burnt alive or shot dead. Slowly regaining his senses, he used his M4 as a support for him to stand back up. He spotted one of his squadmates behind the last humvee and ran up to him. However, the humvee blew up and sent Quinlan back on the ground due to his close proximity to the doomed vehicle. He grunted in pain once he hits the ground and tried to open up his eyes. But he can't. With the loss of his hearing and of his sight, he started to panic and tried to called out his friend, Ryan. His breathing increased in small bursts of air as he thrashes around on the ground, trying his best to regain his senses and praying that these were just temporary. He then felt as if someone dragged him on the street. He struggled to get himself free from their grasps before he felt two, human hands cupping his cheeks. The gesture made him feel warm and calm and let the person to continue to drag him, his breathing slowed down, the pain vanished and his body felt numb as he fell unconsious.

 _University of Londreau, 1934 hours._

"Hit them with everything you've got, marines! Show them how marines fight!" Yelled Raymond to encourage the marines defending the front gates from waves of imperial soldiers.

Just as night approaches, the university was been hit by a massive counter-attack by the imperials. With little time to fortify their positions between the two battles, at first the marines were in a disorganized scramble but thanks to the Strike Force, holding off and pushing off the aggressive force, the marines managed to regroup and held them off so far.

The constant pounding of shells and barrages of tracer bullets halted the assault force for good, however it was also difficult for the allied force to push them out farther more, the battle becoming a stalemate.

With the high grounds, namely the buildings, at their side, the marines opened fire from the rooftops and windows, their bullets taking out hostile soldiers just pass the melee battle happening a few meters away from the marines' firing lines.

"Killer 1-1, this is Echo 1-1. Adjust fire at 300 meters North of our positions." He requested with Sanderson's radio in hand. "Grid: 7 A FJ 452 086, over."

" _10-4. Grid 7A FJ 452 086, over."_ Repeated the mortar team leader, located a few blocks behind the university.

"4 tanks and over 100 enemy dismounted infantry in the open, danger close, over." He informed him. "And they're coming in real fast." He added quickly.

The mortar team leader repeated the info.

"H.E in effect, 5 rounds, over."

" _Roger that. H.E, 5 rounds. Fire for effect. Shot out."_

Shortly after the news was given, Raymond observed at the battlefield to see a small rain of 5 rounds of H.E 60 mm. The rain of death plummeled on the enemy position continously for three seconds at a total of 25 H.E rounds. The mortar bombardment took out an entire platoon and two tankmon in its path.

"Killer 1-1, same order, this time 50 meters closer to us. Fire for effect!" He requested loudly as he spots a company closing in their position.

" _Fire for effect, out."_

A second shower of mortar shells rained down on the enemy position, the assaulting company was devastated after the second bombardment. The explosions shook the ground as dirt and debris flew up to the air before raining down.

"Good effect on target. 4 tanks destroyed, estimate of 60 casualties, out." Announced Raymond.

" _10-4. Be advise, we're currently dry and we're unavailable for half an hour. Good luck out there."_ Informed the mortar team leader before gave the radio back to Sanderson.

Behind their small foxholes near the trackfields, 1st and 3rd squad took up the front firing line. 2nd and 4th squad took the building designated "E", one of the large study buildings next the reception and administration building. 1st Force Recon held the gym where they managed to cut off the enemies' right flank.

Raymond ducked down on the grass as a tank shell flew above him and impacted behind him. The shower of dirt covered Raymond's entire body but he casually shook them off and returned fire. Through the ACOG, he fired a short burst at a Sealsdramon trying to sneak up behind a Strike force soldier. The 5.56 mm rounds connected to the special force imperial to the chest and up to its head. He then fired another burst, this time all shots connected to a Commandramon's head, resulting with its head exploding and the infamous red mist appeared before it collasped to turn into data particles.

"How the fuck do they still get so many soldiers?!" Shouted Jackson as he fired a 40mm grenade from his underbarrel M203, taking out 5 imperials in the process.

"Just keep shooting!" Replied Flamedramon from a foxhole behind him while he fires in multiple short bursts.

"Flamedramon, pass me your radio!" Requested loudly Raymond.

The blue dramon quickly took his radio and tossed it at the Lt, who caught it in mid-air and thanked him later.

"Overlord, this is Echo 1-1. Requesting close air support, how copy?"

" _Echo 1-1, request granted, we'll get Viper 6-4 to assist you."_ Informed Overlord.

Soon after the radio buzzed again as the pilot of a Bell AH-1Z Viper called in.

" _This is Viper 6-4, lock and loaded for anything. Inbound in two minutes."_ She announced.

"Roger that, I want a strafing run at everything 200 meters in front of our positions."

" _Roger. Strafing run in a minute."_

"Uh sir? What about the Strike force?" Asked with concern Cyberdramon.

"That's where I come in." He replied before running out of his foxhole and straight for the melee battle.

Flamedramon just stared at his officer bewildered, most of the marines stared at him in surprise and confusion.

"What the hell? Cover fire for the lieutenant!" He ordered at the top of his lungs as he fires at the imperials near Raymond.

As he runs towards the battle, he fixed his bayonet on his weapon's barrel. He spotted OuRyuumon a few meters ahead of him before he spotted a Sealsdramon trying to strike the captain from behind. He lifted his rifle and sprinted towards the imperial soldier. The enemy had little time to react and slashed his combat knife at the marine. Raymond used his rifle to deflect the strike then used the buttstock to bash the cyborg's ribs, giving distance between them. He charged at it and thursted the blade of his bayonet straight to its upper torso, penetrating its durable steel armour. He kicked the digimon to the ground and shot it several times to the chest. He turned behind him just in time to see OuRyuumon looking down at him in confusion.

"What are-"

"Tell your men to get the fuck out of here! Air support is in a few seconds!" Interrupted Raymond.

The golden dragon swore loudly and ordered: "Fall back! Fall back! The marines are going to obliterate this whole area! Fall back!"

"Cover fire for the Strike Force!" Ordered Raymond as he runs hurriedly to a nearby foxhole.

As Raymond jumped in the same foxhole as Flamedramon, the sound of helicopter rotors and heavy rounds firing from the 20 mm M197 3-barreled Gatling cannon approached them.

The attack helicopter hovered right below them and started to fire its Zuni rockets as well.

The rounds rained down on the enemy while empty round casings fell harshly on top of Raymond and Flamedramon.

The carnage finally ended after a full minute of non-stop firing, leaving only craters and destruction in its wake. The entire assault force was either utterly destroyed or the rest were retreating. Very few digimon survived.

" _Strafing run has been a success. RTB for re-fueling and re-arming, we'll be gone for a while, over."_ She informed the lieutenant before the helicopter returned to the FOB.

Raymond gave out the order to retrieve any wounded digimon on the field while the Strike force behind them just stared in shock at the devastating effects of human weaponry.

As the marines gathered the prisonners and the medics treating the wounds of the Strike Force, Marines and Imperial soldiers, Lt. Vasquez ran across the small park towards Raymond and OuRyuumon who were discussing about the university's defensive perimeter.

Vasquez gave a quick salute to the dragon before he turned to Raymond with a serious expression, his left hand clutching his radio and the other holding firmly his rifle.

"We just got word that Alpha company's tank got stuck in the mud a few blocks ahead of us." He told him.

"Command wants all of us to move out?" Raymond asked, a bit confused as to why they have to move out.

"My platoon was ordered to go there. You, however, must search and find out what happened to the Army relief unit they sent an hour ago."

"Where are they?" Asked Raymond with a frown, knowing that he wouldn't like the next mission.

"Deep in enemy territory. To the East, near the cathedral." Informed Vasquez. "Just bring a small unit, we don't want to grab too much enemy attention. When you find them, call up CASEVAC and we'll regroup here again." He added before he ran back to his platoon.

Raymond stood in silence, scratched his head pensively before swearing loudly.

"Dukeman! You're in charge of the defenses for the time being." He ordered. "Captain, I'll leave it to you to take care of my men." He added with a sharp salute.

"Sure, Leftenant." OuRyuumon replied.

"4th squad and Recon squad on me!"

The marines gather around him at the gym, their weapons loaded and ready to fight again.

"Listen up, a squad of the 11th Infantry Division just went absent an hour ago, their last known position is deep in enemy territory, near the cathedral. This is a recon mission so we won't go guns blazing like we usually do." He earned a few chuckles from the marines. "Once we find them, we'll call up CASEVAC and linked up with the rest of the offensive force here. Retreat?"

"Hell!"

Minutes felt like hours for the marine "recon" team as they painstakingly moved through building after building to avoid any unecessary engagements with the enemy. With the help of their NVGs and Renamon's acute senses, they've reached the ruined cathedral as quickly as possible. Taking cover near the rubbles around the cathedral, they've spotted the destroyed convoy of the missing unit and noticed that at least 25 enemy troops gathered up in front of the massive wooden doors, preparing to breach inside. Raymond silently reached his radio and turned it on as quietly as possible.

"Vanguard 2-2, how copy? I repeat, Vanguard 2-2, how copy?"

" _This is Vanguard 2-2, who am I speaking with?"_ Finally answered Sergeant Kimbles after a small moment of silence.

"This is 2nd lieutenant Raymond of Echo company, US Marines." Raymond silently stated. "We're currently 50 meters behind the enemy assault team, I advise you move back your team so we can eliminate them."

" _Roger that. By the way, thanks for rescuing us, sir. We're outnumbered and we've got lots of wounded soldiers."_

"You're welcome, just hang tight, evac will be here soon." He then turned off the radio and signaled his team to take up firing positions and ready to fire on his signal.

He looked down through his ACOG sight and aimed at an Andromon's head. He turned on his laser at the end of the grip so he can shoot properly with his nightvision goggles on. He breathed in and fired two rounds at its head. The bullets penetrated the humanoid cyborg top head armour and blew off a part of its skull. As soon as it dropped dead on the ground, the marines opened fire behind them in the dark, catching the imperial forces off guard. In half a minute, the entire breach team was neutralized, a Commandramon was clutching dearly at his chest wounds while a Kamemon stood near a column and stared at the darkness in utter shock and petrified. The marines waited a minute before they advanced towards the cathedral, completely ignoring the two imperial survivors. Sanderson knocked on the wooden doors loudly.

"U.S Marines." He stated.

The doors slowly opened and a beat up and bloodied Army sergeant greeted them.

"Sergeant Kimbles, reporting for duty."

"Renamon and Sanderson, watch our backs. The rest of you help with the wounded, Flamedramon call up the evac and pop smoke 10 meters away of the convoy." Raymond instructed and they soon followed it.

"What's your sitrep, sergeant." He asked as he and Kimbles entered the digimon church.

"4 KIAs and 6 heavily wounded." Reported tiredly Kimbles.

"Sir, Evac is going to be here in any minute now." Informed Flamedramon before he looked up in amazement at the church's ceiling decorations. "I didn't even notice the roof was still intact." He commented quietly.

As the wounded were being carried outside, the first evac helicopter arrived.

"Uh ma'am? What do we do about the Kamemon over there?" Sanderson asked with concern to Renamon, pointing his head at the terrified digimon.

"Leave him. He's already traumatized and lost his will to fight." She coldly replied.

"Jesus Christ, to think that the Imperials would bring kids in combat." He commented sadly.

"He's not a kid. He's barely old enough to be a soldier, though that doesn't mean he is as effective as a Sealsdramon." Renamon told him, taking a glance at the turtle digimon.

She sighed after a small moment of silence and walked to the small digimon, pulling her sidearm out. The Kamemon shook inside his shell with only his helmet on top of his shell and shaking. She knocked lightly on the shell with her sidearm. Kamemon slowly peeked his eyes out and paled at the fox's appearence.

"Follow me." She told him stoically and headed to one of the transport helicopters. She stopped in her tracks, sensing that the digimon didn't moved an inch.

"Now." She said with a hint of irritation.

The Kamemon immediately popped his head and limbs out and ran towards her obediently out of pure fear. They walked towards a helicopter and Renamon ordered him to climb in it.

"Who the hell is that?!" Asked the pilot in protest.

Renamon gave the pilot the cold stare, the one that would pale almost anyone, the one exception being her tamer... and Lieutenant Raymond.

"He's a civilian." She answered back. The pilot gulped and nodded, complying to her orders.

"Take care." She told the Kamemon with a small smile and walked back to Sanderson.

Her spotter had a childish grin plastered in his face as if he just received the best present.

"Thanks, Sergeant, I feel much better." He chirped up.

Renamon glared at him for a second before she softened and released a sigh, shaking her head.

"Things I do for you." She giggled before she returned to her stoic expression. "You owe me one." She added and sat down against a column with her sniper rifle in hand.

"Yes, ma'am." Gary murmured.

Once the wounded and the rest of the squad was evacuated, the marines were loaded in a Super Stallion, taking them back to the university.

"Overlord, this is lieutenant Raymond, the missing squad had been retrieved and returning to base. What's our next mission?"

" _Roger that. We thank you for your help. For now your platoon is on standby, we're waiting for the RKs' next move."_ Responded Overlord.

Stephen took off his helmet and closed his eyes, breathing slowly to relax himself. Feeling completely exhausted, he takes in as much rest as he can.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

Warpig

 _September 29th 2017, Londreau, UDC._

"Marines! The Imperials are on the run and are currently making their last stand at the Palace. Tanks are rolling in and 'Warpig' just got out of the mud, we're tasked to reinforce 1st Force Recon and pushing alongside 'Warpig' to the left flank. A Viper will be our air support and the RKs are lending us a hand. His name is Examon and he's one big and tough son of a bitch so we're lucky to have in our side. Oorah, marines?"

"Oorah!" The platoon shouted in unison before they board in the Venoms.

With the help of the Digital Marines and Examon, the offensive force broke through the imperials' left flank quite easily, setting their ranks in disorder. Raymond led his men forward, completely ignoring the bullets that whizzed by him. The act was enough to motivate the marines and followed him, charging the enemy position with determination. From the air, the attack helicopter and Examon cleared out the way and gave the offensive force an easy path to the palace.

Raymond went up the stairs and jumped over the sandbags the enemy had installed. Around him, various imperial foot soldiers laid on the ground in agony, clutching their wounds or calling out help. They seemed to not care about the incoming coalition, being heavily damaged to fight back. Others however, lost their will to fight and simply sat down in shell shock, their stares were empty. The marines continued to move up, leaving them and encircled the palace. Multiple attack helicopters spewed out rounds at enemy positions at the palace's second floor, neutralizing the enemy that mounted defensive positions.

"Left side breach! Stack up!" Ordered Vasquez.

With the main offensive force distracting the enemy, the assault group stacked up at the sides of a set of steel doors. A marine planted C4 charges on the doors and they all backed away for the charges to detonate. The explosion engulfed them in dust and ash but it proved ineffective against the door, it was only bent inward.

"Well shit, that's embarrassing." Commented Raymond. "Overlord, uh, we've got a situation... How can I say it clearly? Uh we can't breach in the building." He reported with incertainty.

" _You can't breach in?"_ The commander asked in disbelief. _"Did you use the C4 charges?"_

"Yes sir, it only made a dent, sir."

" _You're just going to figure this out by yourselves, marine. Solve this quickly because we're running out our momentum."_

"Understood, sir." Raymond turned his radio off.

"Need help, humans?" Asked a voice above him.

They turned around, their weapons drawn upwards and aimed at two hovering digimon.

"Easy there. We're Royal Knights." Stated the smaller knight with his hands raised a little to show no sign of hostility. "Duftmon sent us to assist you."

They flew down and landed near the marines and gave Raymond a quick salute.

"What can we do to help out, Lieutenant?" Asked Magnamon.

"Magnamon, you kick down the doors and you, Craniamon, you'll be the first to go in. You'll cover us with your shield until we all go in. Got it?" He said with a serious tone. The Royal Knights simply nodded and stacked up with the marines.

The golden knight stood in front of the doors and unleashed a powerful kick. The doors violently flew in the building, crashing against the pristine white wall of the palace. Immediately, Craniamon held his shield up and went in, deflecting the incoming enemy fire. The marines followed behind him, taking use of his massive figure as cover and fired back behind him. They spread out, took cover behind the defensive walls and structure columns. Magnamon went in last. He flew in and hovered in front of the imperials on the second floor.

"Magna Blast!" He shouted as he unleashes multiple anti-personnel missiles at them.

The attack took out most of the enemy force, granting the marines a safe passage to the second floor.

"Lieutenant, you take right side, we'll take the left." Stated Vasquez as they went up the stairs.

Once on the second floor, they split up and sweep both sides. While the forward assault group cleared the second floor, the marines of Echo company, led by Captain Richards, alongside the Aerial Strike Force went in the palace. Richards ordered his company to split in platoons and secure the first floor. He turned his headset on and called Command.

"This is Captain Richards of Echo company, we're currently sweeping the palace, no sign of "Crow Demon" yet."

" _Roger that, Echo Actual. Keep searching and call evac if the VIP has been founded. There are still pockets of Imperial forces, I advise you keep a look out there."_

"Second floor, left wing, clear." Announced loudly Vasquez.

"First floor, right wing, clear!" Announced Lt. Martinez.

"First floor, left side, clear." Reported a marine officer.

" _'Crow Demon' founded, second floor, right side."_ Informed Raymond through the radio.

OuRyuumon, Richards, Craniamon and Magnamon ran up the stairs to join up with Raymond's platoon. They found the VIP, holding on to Dukeman as they walked out of the room slowly.

The VIP was badly beaten, his wings were damaged and bleeding down, his armour dented and fractured; his right leg was broken and his mask was damaged. He's torso and right leg bled out slowly but were bandaged up thanks to the marines.

"Karatenmon! Are you okay?" Asked Magnamon with worry and walked towards him to aid the Captain of the Stealth Force.

Dukeman lended the wounded digimon to the Royal Knight.

"Take care, sir." He commented at the winged digimon.

"Thank you, Sergeant." Thanked Karatenmon with appreciation.

"Overlord, this is Echo Actual, requesting an evac on our position. The VIP has been found, I repeat, the VIP has been found." Reported Richards.

" _Evac is en route in 6 minutes. Good job out there, Marines."_

Suddenly, the palace started to shake as they heard eruptions and incoming fire outside.

" _Fuck! This is Warpig! Dozens of hostiles on our position, heavily armed and they're coming in real fast! We're holding them off but we could use some help!"_

"Royal Knights, I want you to stay with the VIP and protect him, we'll take care of the imperials." Richards ordered them with an authoritative tone. "Marines! Get your shit together and move out! We will hold our grounds until evac arrives. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Captain!" The marines of Echo company shouted out.

Marines were holding outside of the palace, taking cover behind the steel walls installed by the enemy. Meanwhile, the M1 Abrams tank "Warpig" took the brunt of the attacks and rolled up front to give cover for the marines. The 65 ton vehicle shot out 120mm shells at its enemies, anniliating everything in its wake. The .50 cal machine gun controlled from the inside took out the survivors and the coaxial M240B LMG spewed out hot lead at anyone who dared to get up close. The metal beast displayed its firepower, quickly becoming the bane of the Imperials but the morale boost of the Marines. Shell after shell, the tank's firepower was enough to push back the wave of enemy soldiers. As it rolled forward, the marines advanced, guided by the tank as it led them the counter-charge.

" _Hostile tanks, 4 of them, 9 o'clock!"_ The tank crewman warned them as it pointed its main gun at the column of Tankmon. _"Take cover, boys!"_

"Cyberdramon! Use the SMAW!" Ordered Raymond.

The digimon dropped his LMG and reached out for his rocket launcher strapped to his back. He flew to one of the nearby buildings' rooftop and took a firing position. With the Tankmon backs' open at him, he aimed carefully and pulled the trigger. The warhead impacted with the exposed flesh of the leading Tankmon, blowing out its torso before being engulfed in the explosion. With the leader out, the rest of the Tankmon dispersed and fired all of their arsenals at the marines. Cyberdramon swore and took out the spent ammunition. He placed another warhead at the end of the launcher and aimed at one of the living tanks. As soon as he pulled the trigger, a bullet ricocheted off his head, making him divert the warhead accidently. The rocket hit the threads of a Tankmon, rending it immobile in the open.

Cyberdramon looked around to find out who shot him. Then more bullets whizzed at him, the shot missed dangerously close. A unit of Assaultmon suppressed him, giving cover for the armour.

With the last ammunition out and his favorite weapon on the ground, he swore under his breath and took cover behind the stone rooftop, slowly being cut out by the shower of bullets. He cracked his knuckles, the popping sounds was satisfying for him until he jumped over the rooftop and flew towards the Assaultmon.

" _Ah shit! Left thread's down. We're sitting ducks out here."_ Informed the tank crewman after the tank took a shot at the threads. " _Our armour is taking a beating and we're almost out of shells!"_

"Captain! Tank's immobilised!" Reported Lt. Raymond.

"Hey! Tell that dragon to aim for the tanks!" Ordered Richards while pointing at Examon in the sky.

Raymond looked up and wave his arms around to get the dragon Royal knight's attention. Examon saw him and flew closer so he could hear the Lieutenant.

"Take out the tanks!" Raymond shouted.

The giant dragon nodded and started to fire H.E rounds at the cyborg tanks. Meanwhile in the palace, the two Royal Knights stood on the second floor, casually observing the marines as the firefight intensified. Magnamon then gasped while his eyes widened.

"Is it just me or did we just follow an order given by a human without a single word." He asked in sudden realisation.

Craniamon just realised it and slapped his head onto his hand.

"We did, Magnamon. And we're stupid for doing so." He replied, feeling stupid at the moment.

"So what are we going to do?" Asked the knight of Miracles.

"HOLY SHIT! HIT THE DECK!" Shouted a marine in the background.

A rocket sailed through the main entrance and flew further deep in the building. The explosion shook the palace a bit but fortunately no one was caught in the blast.

"Fuck that, dude! That thing gave me a haircut!" Yelled another marine who was lucky enough to not have his head blown off.

"I don't think they need cover. However, I think they'll appreciate extra firepower." He replied, hinting at Magnamon what needs to be done.

"I'll go help them out. You take care of Karatenmon." He said and let Craniamon carry the demon crow.

Magnamon ran downstairs and went outside. The captain of the Stealth force stared at Craniamon with confusion.

"That's an odd but bold choice you made, Crania-sama." He commented.

The Royal Knight shrugged.

"I figure these humans won't go hand-to-hand combat with the Imperials anytime soon, so I'm quite bored."

Another rocket flew straight through the buidling. The marines dived down as the projectile sailed upward and hitting a corner of the ceiling. Luckily, no one was hurt.

"Goddamn- Enough with the rockets, ALRIGHT!" Shouted the same lucky marine irritated.

Raymond instantly ducked his head on the ground, barely dodging a bullet flying pass him.

"Hang in there, marine!" He said to the wounded private.

He stood back up, grabbed hold of the private's body armour and dragged him towards the palace. The injured man screamed as he was being dragged away to safety but at a painful slow rate.

"Cover fire for the Lieutenant!" Shouted Dukeman.

Hostile and friendly projectiles whizzed near them but Raymond had only thing in his mind: bring the private to safety, alive.

A tank shell blew next to them, throwing them violently. The firefight rages on as Raymond slowly opened his eyes. Next to him was the body of the young private, dead by the blast. _"Fuck!"_ He thought to himself and started to crawl his way to the palace, hoping that the imperials wouldn't pay much attention to him. He was wrong.

He quickly turned over his back and drew his handgun when he heard screams coming closer at him. A group of Commandramon with their bayonets fixed to their rifles charged at him. He fired off at point blank range , emptying his mag, taking out two of them and the last one thrusted his rifle. Raymond had just enough reflex to catch the blade with both of his hands inches from his throat. He used his legs to tackle the digimon on the ground and rolled on it. He took out his combat knife and aimed for its chest. The digimon used its forearm to block the attack. The two soldiers struggled to gain the upper hand, each wanting to end the life of the other. Just as the blade started to penetrate its body armour, Commandramon released a ferocious growl before it lashed at Raymond and locked its maw painfully at his right forearm. In response, Raymond released the knife and screamed in pain as the digimon used its weight to get on top of him while still having its maw deep in his forearm. The commando digimon used this opportunity to struck the marine with powerful blows to the chest. Raymond desperately tries to release his forearm from the powerful maw and with his other hand, punching the digimon's face multiple times but it only earned him more pain as the digimon sinked his teeth deeper, drawing out more and more blood. Raymond used his right knee to struck below the digimon right between its leg. The digimon welped in pain, prompting it to released its visceral grip on Raymond's arm. It glared daggers at him and was about to slash his face with its claws when suddenly it was sent flying by a powerful golden kick.

"Are you okay, Lieutenant?" Asked Magnamon frowning.

The golden knight held out his hand and pulled the marine off the ground and on his feet.

"Just run. I'll cover you!" He urged him as bullets bounced off his armour harmlessly.

Raymond nodded and ran straight to safely while clutching to his bleeding arm.

Magnamon spun around and kicked a Commandramon that charged at him. He caught the rifle that fell in his hands and threw it at a Sealsdramon. He struck an Assaultmon with a mighty punch. Soon, Aerial Strike Force digimon joined the fight as they push back the enemy counter-attack.

"Raymond!" Called Richards from the palace.

Raymond jumped through a broken window and ran up to him. The captain was sitting against a column. Beside him was a navy corpsman, applying bandages to his wound located on his right tigh. Richards held out a radio to his lieutenant.

"Air support inbound in 2 minutes, make sure they shoot at the right people." He instructed with a sarcastic grin. He then grunted when the corpsman pressed the wound by accident.

Raymond nodded and took the radio. He ran back outside and took cover behind the tank. He looked up to the East to saw that a dozen of attack helicopters were coming towards them. He called Examon and told the dragon to warn the others to pull back.

"Give some cover fire for the Royal Knights!" He ordered before his radio buzzed.

" _Echo Actual, this is Viper 6-4. We're refueled, re-armed and ready to kick some ass. Did you boys miss me?"_ Announced slyly the pilot.

"This is Echo 1, we're taking a lot of fire from an enemy counter-attack. Anything at 300 meters ahead of us is hostile. Take them out!"

" _Roger that. Guns will be spinning in a minute. I advise you keep your heads down."_

"Goddamn it, Cyberdramon! Get the hell out of here!" He scolded at the corporal.

Marines mowed down imperial soldiers as the Aerial Strike force retreated to the palace. Just as they were about to be outgunned by another wave of imperials, rockets, missiles and bullets rained from the sky. Multiple Vipers conducted strafing runs, unloading their firepower at the enemy. In just a few seconds, the imperial force fell back. The retreating soldier were immediately cut down by the attack helicopters and the marines. Warheads engulfed the imperials in an explosive inferno and peppered those around it with hot shrapnel. Bullet casings dropped on top of the marines as twoVipers hovered above them, their 3-barreled Gatling cannon spinning continously for the past minute.

Shortly after their insertion in the battle, the imperial force was wiped out and the transport helicopters came in. Marines cheered with joy as they managed to fend off yet again another counter-attack. Wounded were loaded in the transports and "Warpig" was being airlifted for repair back at the FOB. A US Army medic examined Raymond's forearm and wrapped gently a bandage on it. Once the applying was done, Raymond thanked the medic before he went off to treat the wounds of other marines.

Raymond took off his helmet and rubbed his hand through his hair. He then examined himself, contemplating at his damaged self. His gloves were ripped in small places, his uniform covered in blood, grime and dirt, covering the desert Marpat camo. His body armour was ruined, filled with holes and scratches, the kevlar slab in the armour was probably broken and useless now. His goggles was shattered, so was his shades... his favorite ones. The only thing that was miracleously untouched was his white and blue scarf that acted as a remplacement for his shemagh that was burnt in the previous operation. He let out a sigh of relief as he held the scarf dearly. He jumped in surprise when he heard Magnamon behind him.

"Oh, I'm sorry that I startled you, didn't mean that." He apologised sheepishly.

"No, it's okay." Raymond said with a smile.

"Do you mind that I sit next to you?"

"No, go ahead." Raymond replied.

Magnamon sat down of the steps of the stairs, his hands rested on his legs. He took a glance at Stephen and chuckled.

"What's so funny?" He asked, though not offended.

"You look like hell, no wonder you're called a devil dog." Answered Magnamon with another chuckle.

Stephen simply giggled before gazing back at the blue sky. The both of them sat in silence for a short moment before the Knight of Miracles coughed to break the ice.

"So um... Do you have any families or loved ones that you miss... or something like that?" He asked hesistantly.

"You're quite nosy, aren't you?" Stephen called out with a smirk.

The knight laughed while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Yeah sorry. It's just that I'm curious and excited to finally meet some humans, let alone fight along side them."

"Sorry to say we're not as excited to meet you since we don't know a thing about you, yet you know a lot about us."

"We kinda expected that you humans wouldn't know much about digimon or the DigiWorld, so I guess no worries." Magnamon gave a thumbs up with his eyes closed happily, he was probably smiling at him but his helmet covered his entire face.

"It's quite beautiful." The human said casually, prompting the Royal knight to stare at him in confusion. "The Digital World. And peaceful also... Without all of this, of course." He added jokingly.

"And the Real World?" Asked Magnamon curiously.

Stephen remained silent for a few seconds, pondering on a thought before he finally answered: "Can't say I know well since the countries I traveled in were warzones. However, in these places, there are small areas still untouched by this chaos, madness, that just made the trip across the world and the fight worth it."

"Poetic." Commented the knight of Miracles.

"I have my moments." He shrugged nonchalantly.

"How's the arm?"

"Fucking hurts. Though it is not as painful as receiving a golf ball between your legs. Trust me, I know from experience."

The two of laughed before they were interrupted by the Staff Sergeant from behind.

"Sir, it's time for us to go." Announced Dukeman.

"Until next time, Magnamon. Have a safe trip back." Raymond said before picking up his helmet and walking with the staff sergeant towards a Venom.

"You too, Lieutenant." Said the Royal Knight before he joined up with the Aerial Strike force in the palace.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

The Digimon Ambassador

 _November 4th 2017, Forest Zone._

" _Echo 1, we are assigning you to link up with a Recon team of the JGSDF at Outpost Foxtrot."_

"Roger that, Overlord." Responded 1st LT Raymond before he turned off his headset radio.

"Alright, 1st platoon! We're Oscar-Mike for Outpost Foxtrot."

He entered the leading M-ATV, greeted by Cpl. Brook. The column of armoured vehicles moved on the dirt path towards the outpost.

With the Imperial supply lines captured and three regions liberated, the IDDF push had proved successful. For days, the coalition force pushed back the Imperium of the Southern Continent as they moved forward in multiple regions/zones at a time. It also allowed the Royal Knights to move freely now.

After the previous battle, Raymond was promoted to 1st Lieutenant and took command of several squads of the 1st Recon (Digital) Marines company along his platoon. Due to the massive loss of marines, the Digital Marines had to fuse platoons and companies to maintain order among their ranks. Their reserves would arrive at the end of the year.

Yoji was sitting on his bed, playing on his phone in full combat gear, his Howa Type 89 rifle leaning on the side of his bed. He then heard a knock and tucked his phone on his right pocket.

"Come in!" He announced in japanese.

He received no response. He expected someone to come in but instead he saw the silhouette just standing on the other side of his door. He took his backpack, rifle and helmet and opened the door only to be greeted by an american marine, giving him a crisp salute. Raymond instantly smiled at him and dropped the discipline attitude and relaxed.

"Long time no see, Itami." He said before he punched him lightly on his shoulder.

"You too, Ray." Itami said with his usual laid back tone.

Raymond walked with him towards the japanese military convoy vehicles.

"So how's your arm?" Itami asked as he opens the door of the Toyota high mobility vehicle to drop his backpack.

"It itches but it's fine. Plus I have this sick scar." He replied jokingly as he showed the horrifying scar on his right forearm.

"Well, you know what they say: chicks dig scars. Especially Kuribayashi." He stated with a smirk.

"What?" Stephen's face turned red.

"Come on. It's obvious you had your eyes laid on her. Though it's dangerous, go ahead man. Recently she's really jumpy when the higher-ups talk about your successes."

Raymond was about to reply but got interrupted when they heard a helicopter approaching the outpost. As the Blackhawk landed, a group of five people came out and headed towards them. Ahead of the group was Major Elizabeth Green, followed by three armed US Marines and a man in a business suit with a briefcase on one hand and flicking a lighter on the other. The two officers stood straight, heels together, chin raised up and gave the Major a sharp salute.

"At ease." She said after she returned the gesture. "Gentlemen, I'll like to introduce to you: Mitsuo Yamaki, head of the Hypnos agency and your VIP escort." She then looked at Raymond who frowned upon hearing the VIP's name. "I know for a fact that you two have history but try to not brake his arm and ribcage this time, Lieutenant." She warned him.

"Yes, ma'am" He groaned out.

"Now the reason why he's here is because he's the best we've got in Digimon knowledge and he's currently the japanese ambassador of Japan for the Digital World. You'll escort him to the Village of Smiles where he'll meet up and negociate an alliance with the lord of this zone. Am I clear ?"

"Yes, Major!" They both answered.

She nodded and went back to the helicopter with the marines, leaving Yamaki with the two lieutenants.

"Uh...1st Lieutenant Yoji Itami, it's a pleasure to meet you, sir." He greeted in his native tongue and reached his hand out.

"Likewise." Replied Yamaki as he shook his hand in return.

"Aren't you suppose to be in Japan, watching over the "Missing Children"?" Asked Yoji curiously.

"Was, but now I'm an ambassador so they had a replacement for my job. Can't say I liked that job anyway."

"So who is this lord you'll meet with?" Asked Raymond bluntly, putting aside their differences and focusing on the mission.

"Shoutmon, king of one of the few zones not under the imperial rule. He's the one that led several skirmishes against the Imperium in other zones: sabotages, POW rescues, demolitions, you name them. He's in command of the Fusion Fighters United Army."

"Sounds noble." Commented Raymond. "I guess we should move out now."

"Then let's move. Sir Yamaki, you'll be with my team." Suggested Itami before they went on their seperate ways.

The joint military convoy traversed the many forests and lush green grassy plains and hills of the Forest Zone. Most of the marines look out of their vehicles in awe at the beautiful and eerie peaceful scenery. Vast open fields and valleys filled with small forests, shallow cliffs and bluffs surrounded the convoy.

"I've got to say, sir, this is one beautiful Zone. Reminds me of Holland for some reason." Commented happily Brook. "Or maybe Belgium."

"You've been there?" Asked Raymond with curiosity.

"Yup, three years ago with my wife during the holidays. We did a small trip around Europe. Fun times." He answered with a smile, the memories that were so dear to him.

" _Echo 1, this is Recon 3. The village is just up ahead of us, pass the hill."_ Informed Itami.

"Roger that. Thanks for the heads up."

Ahead of the convoy was the Village of Smiles. Surrounded by forages and bushes, the village consisted of cylinder-like stone buildings with small gardens built on top of each building. The houses varied in size and height. A small wooden guard tower was installed in front of the village. Suddenly, the whole convoy stopped abruptly.

"What the hell was that, Kurata?!" Scolded Itami after his head hit the dashboard of the car.

"Uh sir... I think this drum is yelling at us..." Kurata said in disbelief.

Right in front of the lead vehicle, a small drum with a face, sticks as arms and little legs was blocking their path and screaming angrily at them.

" _This is Raymond, Itami why the fuck did we just stopped?"_

Itami quickly grabbed his radio and answered.

"A drum is blocking our path, I'll deal with it, it's nothing too serious."

He then loaded a mag in his assault rifle and took a quick check on the weapon before he opened the door.

"Nothing too serious..." Commented sarcastically Kurata.

"Shut up."

Itami got out of the vehicle and let his rifle hang on his side. He walked calmly to the small drum-like digimon who was glaring at him.

"Uh hello there. What seems to be the problem?" He asked with a friendly tone.

"What seems to be the problem?! The problem is that your reckless driving almost killed an entire family of pickmon! That's the problem!" The drum digimon shouted with rage and disgust.

Itami looked around him and the lead vehicle, he found nothing until he heard some tiny voices under the vehicle. He searched under the car and his eyes opened widely in shock. Under the Toyota HMV there were at least a dozen of Pickmon shaking like branches and staring at the human in fright.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" He shouted, bowing in front of them.

He then told them to move out. The Pickmon cowarded behind the Dondokomon.

"The hell is going on, Itami?" Asked with frustration Raymond, who got out of his vehicle.

"We almost crushed an entire family of digimon..." Replied hesitantly Itami.

Raymond looked at him with a stoic expression and sighed in annoyance. He looked at the the group of small digimon.

"What's your name, drummer?"

"Dondokomon. Guardian of the Village of Smiles and messenger of the Fusion Fighters United Army." He replied proudly.

"Ok, Dondo. Can you lead us to Shoutmon? We're expecting him to meet us at the village."

"Of course, follow me!" The digimon cheerfully replied and headed towards the village.

"1st squad on foot with me. The rest of you continue by transport." Raymond ordered through his headset.

The convoy slowly moved on at the pace of the digimon guide. Once they entered the village, its inhabitants stared at them in curiosity and apprehension. Others, however, cheered at them, calling the humans "Liberators". Soon the entire village lit with joy as they started to crowd around them, eventually blocking the road for the vehicles.

When they finally arrived at a dome-like stone house through the waves of villagers cheering, they were greeted by a short hairy old man in ragged clothes, holding a staff with a lion's paw at the end of it.

"Are you Shoutmon, sir?" Asked Itami in confusion.

"No, no. I'm Jijimon, the village's elder." The old digimon replied with a cheerie tone. "The king is waiting for you in my domain." He opened his door and let Raymond, Itami and Yamaki in his house. The 1st squad of marines stood outside as guards.

The humans had to duck their heads once they entered the house, unfortunately Itami had his head bumped against the ceiling frame. They took a left and arrived at what seems to be a living room. The sun shoned through the windows and a fireplace could be seen on one end. In the middle of the room, there were two large couches facing one another and a small wooden coffee table in between. The table had a plate of cookies and biscuits and tea cups.

"Make yourself at home, gentlemen." Announced politely Jijimon before he went off to another hallway.

Though the couches were big enough for five small digimon, it was still small for the humans. Yamaki and Itami sat down while Raymond just stood behind them. The two soldiers took off their helmets and rested their rifles on the side of the couch.

A few minutes later, a group of digimon entered the living room through the other hallway and took the seats facing the humans. The group consisted of a Knightmon, a Lilymon, a Gumdramon and a small cloaked digimon with a red tail sticking out of its cloak. The hood covered its whole face.

"Have you been followed by the Imperials?" Asked the cloaked figure.

Yamaki was about to answer but was interrupted by Raymond by a second.

"If we met any imperials, they're as good as dead." He answered with confidence.

At the corner of his eyes, he can see that the figure smirked.

"I guess you're right..." The mysterious digimon soon lifted its hood and revealed itself.

The digimon was a small red dragon with fiery blue eyes, a spiky mouth and a V-shaped forehead. He wore some kind of armour on his upper torso, his forearms and feet. He had a belt strapped around his waist. On each side of his head were spherical shells with a crown emblem on them. Several scars could be seen on his face to evidence his battle experiences. A yellow scarf wrapped around his neck.

"Lord Shoutmon, at your service." He greeted and bowed down.

Yamaki and Itami bowed down while Raymond simply stood straight and gave a firm salute.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, your highness. Now I'm here to tell-"

"I accept the offer." Shoutmon replied, interrupting Yamaki.

"Just like that?" Asked the ambassador baffled.

"Of course! We need your help in this war and you proved us that your soldiers are capable to stop such an empire with courage and honour. Your tales of battle had already reached every region in the DigiWorld. The digimon admire you. And I want to make peace with the Real World once we're done with this bloody war."

The humans looked at each other in disbelief.

"Well that was easy..." Commented Raymond.

Yamaki shrugged and took out a document from his briefcase. While he informed Shoutmon about the content of the documents, both Itami's and Raymond's radio buzzed.

" _To all units, there's been a disturbance at outpost Bravo. All nearby units respond to the call."_

"This is Echo 1 from the Village of Smiles, what's the status."

There was a brief moment of silence.

" _Echo 1, this is Major Green. I'm ordering you to stay in the village and protect the VIP and the king. There's a possibility that a contigent of Imperials are heading towards outpost Foxtrot. Do not go back and do not engage them. We don't want to put the village in danger. Am I clear?"_ Major Green instructed firmly.

"Affirmative, Major. We'll dig in for the mean time." Raymond turned off his radio. "We've got a situation. Imperial forces are currently attacking outpost Bravo and are heading towards outpost Foxtrot. We've been ordered to stay here for the time being."

"If they do attack the outpost then we should dig trenches to the South and West part of the village." Suggested Itami. "I'll tell my men to evacuate the inhabitants of that area."

"Good idea. Jijimon, do you know a safe place for the king?" Asked Yamaki in a serious tone.

"What?! No, this is my home town, let me fight, humans." Declared Shoutmon as he summoned his McField-brand mic.

"That won't be necessary your highness." Interrupted Yamaki. "Though we may seem weak, these men has been through hell and back again. They had already fought many battles."

"Yup, like he said. Semper Fi, your majesty." Raymond said with a confident smile. "Hell is our playing field."

The two officers got out of the house to give orders to their soldiers. Shoutmon looked down with a bit of disappointment.

"Cheer up, Lord Shoutmon." Stated loudly Captain Knightmon. "At least we'll finely see with our own eyes how these fabled human soldiers fight!"

The small red dragon snickered at his captain's attitude.

"I guess so... Lilymon, send a messenger to call in reinforcements, a full company." He requested to his assistant.

The fairy digimon bowed down and called a Sunflowmon to give out the order.

"Dig in, Marines! We'll take the South and the JSDF the West!" Announced Raymond while tossing a shovel at Cyberdramon. "I also want sandbags distributed along the trenches. I want Hesco barriers installed 20 meters behind the trenches, a unit stack is enough. Digimon, you'll fill these up." Renamon, Cyberdramon, Guilmon and Flamedramon groaned in annoyance. "Marksmen and snipers on the roof tops."

"How come we don't have those?" Complained Kuribayashi from her half dug trench, her ballistic armour off and her uniform's sleeves rolled up.

"Because they have more space than us." Bluntly replied Kurata next to her before he chugged down a bottle of water. "And we don't have super robust digital killing machines with us."

She continued to observe the marines, in particular their platoon commander. She examined Raymond who was giving out orders and advices to his men along the trenches. Then he started to take off his helmet, rifle and bullet-proof vest. That suddenly piqued her interest. He rolled up his sleeves, showing off his grusome scar and firm muscles. Though he was not as broad as Tomita, he was enough for her to admire him. He picked up an entrenching tool and helped his men in the trenches. She gazed at him in admiration, having a daydream. A minute later, Raymond noticed her staring at him and looked back in confusion.

"Kuribayashi! Keep digging! The day is still young!" Yelled the Sergeant Major, interrupting her dreamy trance.

She shook off her stare and returned to dig in her trench, blushing furiously as her mind is still clouded with images of the american marine. She threw dirt at Kurata who was laughing his butt off at her embarrassed attitude.

As night envelopped the DigiWorld, several marines and JSDF were set as sentries for the time being while the others slept in their sleeping bags, under the stars or in the trenches.

Stephen was eating quietly his MRE at midnight, gazing at the dark sky, dotted with data particles and data streams that acted as the many stars. Though he was not on guard duty, he couldn't sleep. So he simply eats the MRE's biscuits to pass the time. It was a small habit he picked up since they entered the Digital World after the first battle. Most of the time, Brook or Dukeman would join him in his late night snack and chat for a few minutes. But now, both of them were soundly asleep. He glanced up behind him at the building roof top where Renamon was stationed. The fox digimon was peering through her binoculars at their defensive perimeter, examinating carefully the environment around the village. Suddenly, he heard footsteps gently coming to him to his right.

"Hey, do you mind if I sit next to you?" Kuribayashi asked lazily. Stephen looked at her in confusion. That's when the female soldier realized she spoke in japanese to him. "Uh...sorry. Me... can sit here?" She asked again hesitantly in english and pointing at the ground.

Stephen shrugged and allowed her some space, eventhough there was enough space for both of them to sit on. Though it may seem that Stephen was calm and collective, in the inside he was nervous as his heart beats rapidly. The same could be said for Shino Kuribayashi. They sat and gazed at the horizon in silence. A few occasional glances was exchanged between them. Stephen offered Shino his military chocolate bar when her stomach started to growl. She gingerly accepted the chocolate and ate it.

Suddenly, they heard jets flying above the village, followed by series of explosions that could be seen in the distance. Japanese and British air forces conducted night bombing raids, cutting off the enemy force in half.

Raymond's radio buzzed loudly by his side. He jumped in surprise and quickly reached the device.

" _Echo 1, this is Trojan Actual. We're currently bombing the Imperials located near outpost Foxtrot and Bravo. For now we have them on the run but we advise you to keep your eyes oepn for any enemy remnants."_

"Roger that, Trojan Actual. Keep up the good work, it's like the 4th of July from here." Joked Raymond.

" _You're in luck. The bombings will continue for an hour or so, follow by artillery. Enjoy the show, Lieutenant."_

Raymond chuckled and gazed back at the infernal fireworks. The entire 3rd Recon team awoke from the sounds of jets and explosions, and gazed at it in awe. Several inhabitants however, stared at the nocturnal bombings with fear and shock. The bombs dropping, the ground violently erupting, fiery orange flashes dotting the landscape could be seen from everywhere in the village.

From the balcony of the safehouse, Shoutmon, Lilymon and Gumdramon stared at the "light show".

"I didn't know humans could do that." Gumdramon murmured in awe.

Though they weren't unfamiliar with such display of firepower, it surprised them that the humans had them in quantity and in such short time.

"Let's hope that was enough to take out that legion." Said Shoutmon as he leaned over the edge of the balcony. "And that freedom and justice will prevail."

Itami woke up groggily from his seat in the light vehicle. He groaned as he took a glance at his watch.

"Tomita, can you tell me what are the Americans cheering about?" He asked as he got out of the Toyota to take a piss nearby.

"The air raids. By our air force and the British."

"I assume that stirred up the entire village." Guessed Itami.

"Yeah." Tomita responded before he grinned. "At least Kuribayashi is enjoying the show with her boyfriend." He added jokingly.

Itami zip up his pants and walked next to Tomita. He looked over where the young woman was and laughed as soon as he spotted her.

"These two should get a room." He commented lazily.

"How much do you bet they'll eventually kiss?" Proposed Kurata behind them.

"3 000 yen that they'll kiss in the middle of the battlefield." Stated Master Sergeant Nishina.

"2 000 yen they won't" Joined Leading Private Tozu.

"5 000 yen say I'll get a picture of the moment." Announced proudly Leading Private Sasagawa.

Soon all the male soldiers of 3rd Recon team made bets and chatted. Unfortunately for them, they spoke loud enough for Kuribayashi to hear them clearly. Stephen backed away from her slowly as she tightens her fists and her breath fuming with pure rage. He could see in her eyes a blazing anger that even the bombing raid in the distance was nothing compared to _those_ fiery eyes. He didn't know why she was all of the sudden furious but he figured it had something to do with the soldiers discussing behind them.

The petite woman then lashed out at the nearest squadmate, sadly Kurata. Raymond had to call Renamon and several marines to pull the enraged woman off Kurata before she actually beats the poor young private to death. And that was no easy task for the marines, even with Guilmon's help added.

* * *

 **Author's note: Sorry, again, for the single chapter for this week but it has been stressful since my school is preparing us for the "big" test; the VERY VERY important one. Next week should be okay for two posts, there is one more important test to get through in two weeks and then, maybe I should be fine for a few weeks. Anyways, I hope you like this story so far, can't say its the best but I'll do my best to improve. Favorite, Follow and/or Review the story if you want and until next time! A la prochaine fois!**


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15:

The siege of Village of Smiles

 _(Part 1)_

 _November 5th 2017, Village of Smiles_

Raymond peered through his binoculars over a Hesco barrier. Eversince this morning, the IDDF soldiers took up defensive positions and had their weapons at the ready. The mortar teams behind the trenches were ready to load a round.

"Renamon, can you identify the digimon?" He asked to the digimon sniper through the radio.

" _Affirmative. Commandramon, male. Though he seems to be running away instead of charging us."_ She informed in response.

Raymond pensively thought out a course of action. He mentally slapped himself and moved out of cover.

"4th squad on me. Renamon, if you see anything not human, kill it." He ordered as he jumped over the trench and ran towards the fleeing imperial soldier.

"Easy for you to say..." She muttered under her breath.

After running a few meters, Raymond raised his fist up to halt the squad and aimed his rifle at the Commandramon.

"Stop! Or we'll shoot!" He warned him loudly.

Flamedramon's squad took firing stances and drawn out their weapons. The imperial trooper didn't seem to notice them as he franctically took glances behind him while running.

Raymond warned again but didn't got the result he hoped for. He fired a shot at the digimon's right leg. The soldier tripped on the grass and screamed as he held his shot leg.

The Marines ran up to him, still pointing their weapons at him and circled around him.

"Where are the others?" Asked sternly Flamedramon while pressing his foot against the digimon's wound to get a quick answer.

"I don't know!" He yelled back.

Flamedramon pressed again with more weight and asked the question a second time.

"Please stop that! We're being pursued and I got separated from my unit among the panic." Commandramon replied quickly.

"Pursued by what?" Asked Raymond intriged.

As if on cue, they heard a loud terrifying roar coming from the forest 500 meters further ahead of them. The trees shook violently and some were cut down. Small bug-like digimon flew away in fear as the second roar came closer. A large skeletal creature rushed out of the forest in a raging rampage and charged towards them. Raymond eyes widened in surprise and yelled out immediately:

"HOLY FUCK! RUN! JUST FUCKING RUN!"

Two Marines picked up the wounded enemy and ran towards the village with fear plastered on their faces.

The sudden appearance of a SkullGreymon took both Guilmon and Renamon, not to mention also the entire village, by surprise. The vulpine fired a shot at the rampaging digimon's head, only for the bullet to deflect off harmlessly. Small and heavy rounds flew straight for the SkullGreymon as the soldiers gave cover fire for the retreating marines. The heavy machine guns seemed to slow down the skeletal digimon but it also angered it even more. Once the retreating marines jumped back to friendly lines, mortars and missiles started to pound down the digimon. The SkullGreymon snarled and launched multiple organic missiles from its spinal cord.

"Incoming!" Renamon warned before ducking her head as a missile barely hit her.

"Rifles suppress it! Aim for the head! Machine guns and missiles aim for the chest!" Shouted Raymond.

The SkullGreymon backed away little by little as it growled at the humans disturbing its vision with small rounds.

"Katsumoto! Aim for the chest!" Ordered Itami at the large soldier carrying the Panzerfaust.

Katsumoto lifted the missile launcher over his shoulder and aimed carefully at the target. The constant movement of the digimon made him adjust the trajectory several times until he finally found his moment. He didn't take another second to wait and pulled the trigger. The warhead flew above the trench line, leaving a trail of smoke above 3rd Recon Team. The warhead pierced its ribcage and impacted with its remaining internal organs. The explosion engulfed the creature in some sort of a cleansing fire as it gave one last roar of pain before it dissolved into data.

While the JSDF recon team cheered happily, the Marines observed the forest ahead of their positions as if waiting for another attack … and they were right. The cheering was cut short and everyone ducked their heads behind the sandbags as multiple projectiles whizzed at them. Though the sandbags give them protection against conventional projectiles, it did nothing against other, more powerful "attacks". Under suppression, the allied forces tried to return fire and regain superior firepower.

Bradley opened fire at any muzzle flashes at the treelines from her position in a civilian house. Luckily for her, the imperials didn't notice her yet as she takes out several hostile foot soldiers. With the increasing number of imperial soldiers, she was emptying her rifle's magazines faster than she expected. Suddenly, as the Marines started to regain fire superiority, a hail of bullets peppered Bradley's cover. A round struck her right elbow before she fell on the ground painfully with a welp. Clutching her bleeding elbow, she spewed out profanities as more rounds went through the window and destroying everything inside the room.

"Lucky motherfuckers!" She hissed angrily as she crawled her way out of the bedroom.

Once in the hallway, she stood back up and closed the door shut, the sound of bullets impacting on the stone wall muffled. She turned around as she heard Sanderson falling down the wooden ladder. Once he got back on his feet, he panted heavily and rested his hands on his knees. Avoiding bullets was no easy task but he was relieved that he survived... there was a reason after all why his nickname is "Roach".

With their cover blown, literally, Roach carried Bradley to the medical vehicle, Renamon giving them cover fire. Thanks to the LAVs and APCs, they managed to return fire at the enemy with minimum casualties, for now only three Marines are wounded during the ongoing firefight.

The explosive rounds pounded the forest where the enemy position is, blowing up the terrain and trees apart. An hour later and air support soon arrived, dropping bombs and firing their machine guns, decimating the imperial force in an awesome and horrific display of human weaponry and firepower. Engulfed in flames, the human forces continued to gun down the entire forest until the sun finally sets in, leaving the forest and the grass around it in ashes and smokes.

" _This is Goliath 2-3, we're RTB for re-arming and re-fueling."_ Announced the pilot of an A-10 Thunderbolt II.

"Roger that. Thanks a lot for the assist." Replied Raymond through the M-ATV's radio.

" _Call us if you need any help."_ The pilot proposed.

"I'll keep it in mind." Raymond stated before shutting the comms off.

"Guilmon! Cyberdramon!" He called them loudly. " I want you to check on our ammunation if we have enough to last a few days." He ordered after he placed the radio back in the vehicle. "Dukeman, status report." He demanded as they walk along the trench lines.

"3 wounded on our side, 0 for the japs." The Staff Sergeant reported. "These guys are quite lucky."

" _We're_ lucky, Louis, all of us are. Intel say we just fend off an entire company and probably more." Corrected Raymond before stopping in his tracks.

Dukeman jumped in surprise as Renamon appeared in front of them out of thin air, Raymond seemed to be unfazed by it and looked at her expectantly.

"The VIPs and civilians are okay. Just a few buildings got damaged but nothing too serious to report, sir." She reported dutifully.

Satisfied with the report, he nodded at her and was about to head towards Itami but got interrupted once Renamon placed a paw on his shoulder. He turned at her with an eyebrow raised. Though the gesture may be an offense to any officer, Raymond was the only officer in the entire company to have a laid back attitude. Most Marines admired and respected him, both in combat and on break.

"Permission to speak, sir?" She asked after pulling her paw out of his shoulder.

"Granted."

"How long should we stay here? The ammo and food supply aren't my concern but what about the civilians?"

"Don't know, Sergeant, but if we have to stay here and defend this village, we'll do just that. Command will, and hopefully, send us an evac order for the civvies." He answered straightly before being approached by Itami and the platoon's communications specialist, Lance Corporal Dean "DD" Darack, both of them had a radio in their hands and looks of worry on their faces.

"Sir, I just got news from the Major." He began nervously. "The main base is being under attack by an entire Legion and Intel spotted a whole battalion is coming for us, cutting us from any support."

Raymond looked at Itami, hoping that he might give him some good news, but it wasn't in this case.

"Got the same news from Hazama. JASDF are currently helping them out and the Airborne 12th company along the 401st company are tasked to assist them. If we can hold the imperials for 2 or 3 days, we might get reinforcements soon." He informed with a small hint of optimism.

"Well I guess we should fortify our defenses in the mean time." Suggested Raymond. "Renamon, tell Sergeant Sledge to move back our perimeter with his squad to block off the civilians, 2 klicks would be good enough." He added before the vulpine silently nodded and vanished.

Itami just stood there, his mouth and eyes wide open in utter shock that a digimon could disappear in thin air, the Marines left him as they casually went on their separate ways. He blinked a few times before gathering his team for a briefing.

"What do you mean we can't pass through?!" Asked the Knightmon incredulously at the Marines blocking the southern pathway of the village. "Do you know who you're dealing with, soldier?" He stated angrily at the human, who seemed completely calm at the tall heavily armoured digimon.

"Those are my orders, sir. Unless you want your king to be shot by enemy sniper." Responded casually the Marine with sarcasm. "His death will be on your hands." He added with a mocking smirk.

"Why you-"

Before Knightmon could draw out his sword, Yamaki stepped in front of him and showed his ID card at the Marine.

"Let them through, Marine. They're under my responsibility." He demanded as he put back his card.

The Marine reluctantly let the VIPs in the perimeter. Knightmon gave him a glare, and in response the Marine merely rolled his eyes.

"Over here, Knightmon!" Shouted hurriedly Shoutmon before things could escalate between them.

The group headed to the lead M-ATV where 1st Lt. Raymond and 1st Lt. Itami were briefing with their NCOs. Yamaki coughed loudly to grab both of the officers' attention and interrupted the briefing.

"Shoutmon wants a status report on the situation." Stated Yamaki.

Both of the officers looked at each other, unsure which news they should tell first, Raymond finally spoke up.

"Well the good news is: we defended the village from an entire company of imperials and that support and reinforcements will be available in a few days." He started off before shifting uncomfortably. "However the reason why is the bad news. As we speak, Camp Green is under attack by an Imperial Legion. We got informed from our superiors that a force of about 800 soldiers or maybe more are coming straight at us." Raymond finished off grimly.

The group of civilians stared at him in shock after the news was given. Shoutmon paled at their current situation. He started to feel nauseous. Never in his life he fought off a force of this size, especially with a small force to defend his hometown and the fact that his reinforcements wouldn't be enough to defeat the imperials.

"A-and how do you plan on fighting against such a force?" He asked nervously. He feared for his friends' lives and hometown.

Raymond simply gave him a comforting smile.

"Semper fi, your majesty, we're used to fight against uneven odds. We're Marines and we win battles." He stated confidently before turning at his men. "Retreat?"

"Hell!" They all replied proudly.

"Is there any way that we can help you, gentlemen." Asked Knightmon with enthusiasm in his voice.

"If you can provide us heavy firepower, yes. If not, you can protect and guide the civilians out of harm's way." Replied Raymond as he puts on his helmet and shades on.

"Wait a minute... aren't you suppose to have a small army of pawnchessmon with you?" Asked Itami to Knightmon, earning him a surprised look from Raymond.

"Of course! My soldiers are loyal to me and will follow me anywhere!" Declared proudly the knight.

The knight digimon whistled loudly and suddenly, dwarf size white knights came out from different parts of the village, in the most random locations. Knights bursted out of food barrels, house windows and doors and even the ground itself. A Pawnchessmon even spawned out of a LAV-25, the drivers spilled their coffee and scrambled to get their weapons out. Causing chaos in the trenches, Marines let out gasps and curses, the small knights ignored them, some even apologised before their tiny armoured feet guided them to their leader. A hundred white Pawnchessmon stood in rank and file behind Knightmon, standing proudly at their commander's attention. Caught off guard, the nearby Marines instinctly raised their weapons at the small white knights.

"Stand your grounds, Marines! Jesus Christ! You almost blew the VIP's head off!" Scolded Raymond at them as he stepped in front of his men. "No one told us about that!" He exclaimed at Yamaki.

"Neither do I. However, what are you suggesting Itami?" He asked with interest at the young officer.

"If I remember from the anime, a Knightmon and several PawnChessmons can form a pyramid formation and it can halt any attack. If our LAVs give them cover fire, we'll be able to use our light vehicles and charge at the enemy lines." He stated as he continues to ponder more in his plans.

"And in that way, we'll be able to use more effectively our firepower at a closer range while having an impenetrable and mobile cover..." Continued Raymond as he realised Itami's plan. "If we can't beat them with numbers, we'll defeat them with speed and firepower. Break their lines and cause disorder among their ranks. We can flank them, breaking their morale at the same time."

"But for now, we should probably bolster our defenses first and make sure that we have enough supplies for at least a whole week." Reminded Itami with a frown.

"Back to work then." Raymond commented before giving a sharp salute at Shoutmon and headed towards the trench line.

Itami was about to head out also until he noticed Shoutmon looking around nervously.

"Uh? Are you okay, your highness?" He asked with mild concern for the small dragon digimon.

Shoutmon shook his head and blinked a few times, getting out of his trance. He looked up at the JSDF officer sheepishly.

"Y-yeah, I guess. It's just..." He started before frowning. "How do you feel relax with all this?"

Itami scratched his chin as he tries to come up with an answer. He didn't realised until now that he and most of the soldiers looked kind of relaxed, as if this was just another deployment in a country ruined by terrorism back in their own world. Even he felt calm and comfortable even though this was his first deployment in an actual warzone, the same could be said for the entire JSDF personels.

"I guess it didn't cross my mind until now. Maybe it's thanks to our training. As for the Marines, most of them already had combat experiences back in our world. But... no matter the odds, it's our duty to defend the population from any harm with our lives." He declared as he gave Shoutmon a comforting smile. "Well that's what I think anyway." He added sheepishly, earning him a chuckle from Yamaki.

Behind his foxhole, Guilmon observed the enemy line behind the treelines through his Nightvision goggles. The eerie silence and the gentle breeze caressing his scales made him feel sleepy until he noticed a particular scent coming to his left. He smiled as Renamon took a seat in his foxhole next to him.

"Anything new with our neighbours?" She asked sarcastically, placing her sniper rifle next to her.

"For now, no. They are just having a nice campfire while others are staring at us." He replied with the same tone.

He sighed and lifted the goggles off his eyes. He slumped his back against the dirt and took a pen and a notepad from his backpack. Renamon looked at him curiously as he scribbles down notes.

"They have a Blackmetalgarurumon. I figure LT wants him down and quickly, might as well use our LAVs and mortars for once." He answered at her mental question as he continues to scribble down.

Renamon picked up her sniper rifle and examined the enemy line through her rifle's scope. She was making mental notes on the enemy personel, spotting their NCOs and any potential threat to take out tomorrow.

"That Machgaogamon seems to be an officer. Maybe the one leading the whole Battalion." She informed him as she set her sights on the digimon.

The digimon in question walked around the imperial camp site casually, his arms behind his back, while being followed by several armed Sealsdramon and a NeoDevimon.

"That NeoDevimon must be his secon-in-command." She added to Guilmon as he writes down the information.

After several minutes of silent observing, she placed down her rifle on the ground and rested next to her boyfriend, nestling closely to him. She rested her head on his shoulder and snickered when she realised that Guilmon was drawing sketches of her during the observation.

"For someone who have claws for fingers, you draw like an artist." Guilmon blushed lightly at her compliment and chuckled.

"These are just simple doodles..." He stated as he rested his head on top of hers.

"Now you're being modest. These are beautiful." She complimented before giving a small kiss on the digimon's cheek.

"Y-you think?" He stuttered out, caught off guard by the loving gesture.

"Yeah, I'll like to have a portrait of myself. Drawn and signed by you."

"Gosh... I didn't know you appreciate them so much. Guess I should get started then." He turned a page on his notepad and started to draw the silhouette of her head. "How about you?"

"My drawing skill has been quite rusty since we've being deployed. But I can say that you draw as well as me, maybe even better." She admitted.

"No way, you're still the best. Remember that drawing you did of our group photo of last summer? That's a masterpiece and not a "quick doodle" like you claimed numerous times before."

Renamon felt her cheeks heat up at Guilmon's admiration. She tightens her paw around his hand and smiled at him brightly, a rare sight for any one to see, reserved only for him.

"Aww, you're too sweet, but thanks, it means a lot."

The two digimon stared at each other happily, their smiles widened and their heartbeats in a synchronised rhythm. They slowly leaned forward, tilting their heads as their faces inched closer and closer.

"Guilmon, keep your eyes on the enemy and not on your girlfriend." Ordered Raymond as he casually passed their foxhole with Dukeman behind him. "And no kisses in combat. You two will get a room after the war." He added with a playful smirk.

The couple sat straightly and looked away in embarrassement, their faces lit in deep crimson. Guilmon coughed awkwardly and placed his NVGs back on his eyes and resumed his observation on the enemy while Renamon stood up and walked back to her foxhole.

She quickly turned back and gave one last kiss on his cheek.

 _November 6th 2017, Village of Smiles._

The Marines and JGSDF soldiers didn't have a nice morning. As soon as the sun rose up, the Imperials started to open fire at their positions. Fortunately for them, they were quick enough to respond back.

Raymond ducked behind the Hesco barrier as more rounds hit his cover and ziping above his head. Hostile missiles erupted near their positions, shooting dirt in the air and covering the nearby Marines in dusts.

"I want H.E rounds on that son of a bitch!" He yelled out as he runs out of his cover and towards his M-ATV. A few rounds impacted on the ground near his feet as he was running. He hastilly opened the vehicle's driver door and quickly took the backpack on his seat. He rummaged through his backpack until he found the portable laser designator and a couple of AR-15 box magazines. He cautiously looked around him before he made a mad dash to a nearby foxhole.

"Use this to direct our air support!" He shouted as he passes the device to Darrack. "Guilmon! Set coordinates for the mortars: 500 meters to our 12, 3 rounds. Fire for effect!"

Guilmon repeated Raymond's coordinates to the rest of the mortar team as he loads a round on a mortar. The infantry artillery launched their H.E rounds over the trenches, hitting on a couple of hostile units.

"Adjust 25 meters to the left!" Dukeman shouted at them while firing a couple of rounds.

"Firing!" Yelled Guilmon before loading another round in the mortar.

This time the shells impacted deep behind enemy lines, taking out some of their artillery digimon and destroying some equipment in their camp.

"10 meters more to the left!" Raymond informed, knowing that the rounds approached their target.

With the adjustment done, the shells hit the BlackmetalGarurumon. The multiple explosions was enough to delete it from existence and taking out a few others around it.

"Good effect on target! Keep up the good work, boys!" Raymond cheered as he opens fire at the incoming hostile infantry.

A wave of foot soldiers charged at them, only to be mowed down by the JSDF LAV and machine guns. Soon, three Warthogs arrived at the battlefield and dropped their bombs on the enemy wave. They turned around and spewed out from their GAU-8 gatling autocannon. Dirt kicked up as 30mm rounds impacted on the ground and infantry digimon, killing them with a single hit.

Way behind the ensuing firefight, the inhabitants of the Village of Smiles were being evacuated in the village's town hall. It was a wide cylinder building, though not a tall building, it is spacious enough to shelter all 200 villagers, partially because most villagers are small size digimon.

"Holmes! Take out those scouts on our 6!" Yelled Sgt. Josh Sledge as he fired small bursts at an incoming Pegasusmon.

The intermediate cartridges of the Marines harmlessly bounced off the digimon's armour. The Marines dived for cover as the digimon launched an attack, the shower of needles showered the area. The needles got stuck solid on the dirt pathway and the humvee's window. With only a small distance between them, Sledge got up from his cover and opened fire at the digimon's left wing.

The holy beast came crashing down on the ground but was on its feet quickly and glaring at Sledge.

"Silver Blaze!" It shouted as it shoots a green beam from its forehead.

Thanks to his quick reflex, Sledge pulled the wounded Marine beside him and pushed him out of harm's way. The beam exploded in front of the sergeant, sending him farther in the street.

A Marine Lance corporal threw a fragmentation grenade right below the beast's belly while others suppressed it. The grenade's blast sent the digimon upwards before it crashed violently on the ground.

"How are you hanging, sir?" Asked PFC. Keith as he pulled the squad leader up.

Sledge was interrupted when they heard the heavy and shallow breath of the digimon. The Pegasusmon was desperately and stubbornly trying to get back on its feet. What was once considered a majestic beast turned in to a bloody mess, thanks to human modern weaponry. Though its upper body was untouched by the blast, its legs and lower body was filled with deep gashes and bled profusely. Its blond feathered wings were ruined and bleeding. Blood came out from its mouth and seeping out of its helmet, caused by the internal bleeding. Guts were threatening to spill on the ground.

The Marines stared at it with sympathy and sternness, they knew from experience that war isn't a pretty thing. After a few moments of struggle, it dropped back on the ground hopelessly, panting heavily as tears started to swell in its eyes.

A Marine corporal approached it, his weapon hanging loosely at his side. He gave it a stern salute before slowly aiming his M16A4 rifle at the digimon's head.

"I'm sorry to say this, but I'm going to end your suffering." Announced grimly the Marine. "Any last words?"

"Thank...you, human." It breathe out before shutting its eyes and awaited its final moments.

"It's the least I can do..." Replied the Marine before firing a round straight through its eye, ending it quickly.

The Marine stood still as the cloud of data particles flew up slowly, staring at the spot blankly. He swore under his breath and walks back to his squadmates shakingly. Sledge placed a hand on his shoulder and led him to the side of the humvee. He told him to sit down.

"How are you feeling, Corporal." He asked with concern as he stares at the blank Marine.

The Corporal swore loudly and slammed his head on his hands as he starts to weep solemnly. Sledge craddled the broken human being, letting his tears stain his uniform and caresses his back to comfort him. His fellow squadmates stood behind their squad leader, staring at him in silence. The moment of solidarity and brotherhood muffled the ongoing battle. After Sledge told the Marine to stay in the vehicle to take a rest, a Pawnchessmon stood straightly behind him, saluting him.

"The civilians ha-have been successfully evacuated..." He stuttered out while trembling.

"Are you okay there, trooper?" Sledge noticed his discomfort.

"A-a little, sir. Feeling a bit n-n-nauseous because of the blo-" His sentence was cut short as he knelt down and barfed out of his helmet. "C-can't handle the smell of blood, sir." He explained tiredly after multiple throw ups.

"Sorry to hear that, but thanks for the info." He turned to his men, who all gathered around him. "Listen up, our orders are to hold our ground here until further notice. I know that all of you want to go back to the trenches and beat the shit out of those imperial fucks but our priority is to defend the civilians, not to end the war in a single battle. Am I clear ?"

"Yes, Sergeant!" They all replied loudly.


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16:

The siege of Village of Smiles

 _(part 2)_

As the afternoon approaches, the battle died down. Since this morning, the Marines and JSDF fought continously, able to fend off wave after wave of hostile infantry thanks to air support and by sheer volume of fire. However, they all knew the battle wasn't over. With their air support unavailable for the rest of the day, they are going to have to hold their grounds in the dark on their own.

With the high number of casualties and limited ammunation supplies, most of them felt uneasy of their current situation. Their supplies underestimated the enemy's numbers and resistances. They weren't facing some light infantry anymore, they have to face stronger opponents, their small arms rounds couldn't make a single dent or any significant damage. What could kill a man with a single shot, was an airsoft gun to them.

Itami carried over his shoulders Sergeant Azuma, wounded to the left leg and ribcages. He sprinted as fast as he could through the chaotic bombardment of imperial artilleries to the village's makeshift medical station.

"I thought we took out their artillery..." He muttered bitterly under his breath. "Hang in there, sergeant!" He shouted at the wounded soldier, who simply responded with a thumbs up.

Itami let out a cry of determination and used every bit of his energy as he rushes towards the medical station. On cue, two Marines with a stretcher arrived and let Itami drop gently Azuma on it and carried him away in the building. Itami did not take a moment to rest as he sprints back to the trenches.

The artillery shells scorched the grassy plains in front of the defensive lines, shooting out large chunks of dirt and thick smoke blocking their NVGs. Unbeknownst to them, the main infantry force crept behind the bombardment, using it as cover from the humans' nightvision goggles.

After a few seconds more of chaos and destruction, the Marines and the JGSDF pop their heads out of cover only to be met by a roaring charge of the enemy. Kicked by instinct and training, they readied their weapons and opened fire, the mortars later joined in.

Tracer rounds filled the already ruinous landscape. The LAVs and APCs opened fire at the charging crowd. It quickly became a shooting gallery for them. As the imperial infantry approaches, the IDDF soldiers started to throw out frag grenades in a last ditch attempt to break their numbers.

A Commandramon gave out a cry of determination and fury as he charges towards Raymond. The Lieutenant quickly draws out his M9 pistol and fired three shots to the chest. The digimon in front of him died and another charged at him at the corner of his eye. Raymond spun quickly and fired another three rounds and did the same over and over again as more and more imperials showed up. His position has been saved from being overrun thanks to Cyberdramon's intervention, mowing down a whole squad of imperials with his trusty M240B.

"I've got this, sir. The mortar team needs your assistance, sir." The digimon informed while deploying his weapon's bipod and resumed to fire.

Raymond climbed out of the trench and ran to the back lines. Once he linked up with the mortar team, he could see that some of the crew had been wounded severely.

"Status report." He demanded.

"We're getting pinned down by enemy sharpshooters and our mortars are overheating, we need water and fast, sir." Replied hurriedly a Marine corporal.

"Where's Corporal Guilmon?" He asked as he looks around him.

"Evacuating some of our wounded and searching for the corpsman, sir." Replied the Marine while putting some pressure on another Marine's wound.

"Alright, hang tight, Marines! I'll be back." He stated before he ran off to his M-ATV.

He opened the front passenger's seat door and looked in there. As he bent down, he avoided a bullet that struck through the window by sheer random luck. He took a couple of water bottles from his backpack and ran back to the mortar crew.

He immediately hit the ground as a bullet hit dangerously close him. He passed the bottles to the Marines and looked through his ACOG to determine the bullet's original trajectory. He kept observing carefully, trying to find the sharpshooter among the chaotic battle. Then he spotted a muzzle flash coming from the barren forest followed by a bullet whizzing pass his head.

"Found that son of a bitch!" He announced without flinching from the earlier projectile. "Single shooter, 300 meters ahead of us..."

As he continues to give out the order, the mortar were preparing their shots, adjusting their mortars and readying a H.E round.

"Fire for effect!"

"Fire for effect!"

The mortar team launched three rounds to the sky before it plummeted down in the forest.

"Fire again, same coordinates!"

"Fire in the hole!"

Another three rounds hit the forest, chunks of bark and dirt shot out in the air.

"Good effect on target. Good job, boys!"

Raymond picked up his M4A1 and ran back to the frontlines to direct and assist his men.

 _10 km East of Village of Smiles. 2nd Armoured Division, Bravo Company, JGSDF_

" _Listen up! Our allies are taking heavy resistance from two sides. Command's dispatching the infantry and the air force to their main base, while we are going to help out a Recon team and a Marine platoon in a village, fighting a force of at least 800 hostiles. They have VIPs to protect and time is against them. We're giving them a hand and we'll show these imperial basterds how we fight. Am I clear?"_

" _Sir, yes sir!"_

The column of 12 Type 10 Hitomaru tanks thread along the landscape in the darkness, the sound of heavy engines and tracks resonated loudly around them, scaring off the local digimon bugs at the nearby forests.

Staff Sergeant Hiroki Taneda, tank commander of the _"Demolisher",_ part of 1st Platoon and currently at the forefront of the assault formation.

"Permission to speak, sir?" Asked Cpl. Hizaya "Yoyo" Yoshida, the tank's gunner.

"Granted." He replied shortly, though it was with reluctance.

"Sir, did we just agreed to go on a suicide mission against 800 digital monsters?" The gunner asked sarcastically.

"Yes, Yoyo, we did." He answered after sighing.

"Then I have a cunning plan for getting us out of this situation!" He announced proudly.

"Let me guess, it's shooting ourselves in the head..." Proposed Cpl. Ken Amari, the tank's driver.

"Close enough. You see-"

"Is your plan as cunning as a fox who has just been appointed professor of cunning at Oxford University?" Interrupted Taneda ironically.

"Yes, sir. It is so cunning, you'll think of me as a grown man like you." Replied the gunner. "Except I don't look like an Otaku faggot and talk all educated." He continued under his breath.

"Heard that." The Staff Sergeant informed before receiving an order from the platoon commander.

" _To all units, halt formation. We've got activity 3 klicks ahead."_

The arrow-shaped tank formation stopped abruptly. Farther away from the formation, behind the dark filled plains and forests, flashes of light and thick smoke could be seen.

" _That's our boys and americans out there. Looks like they're still in the fight. Let's move out and bring some pain to the enemy!"_ Announced the platoon commander enthusiastically before the formation charged forward.

The battle grew fiercer as the IDDF soldiers pulled back to their 2nd defensive line. The two LAV-25 spewed out 25 mm rounds from their M242 Bushmaster chain gun while the infantry retreated. The 2nd defensive line consisted mostly of Hesco barriers and the convoy's vehicles as defense turrets.

"I want those 50s up and running!" Yelled Raymond as he took out two Sealsdramon with five rounds bursts to the chest each.

The loud, angry barking of the Browning Machine guns opened fire at the hostile foot soldiers, clouds of red mists popped up at every digimon who fell from the machine gun's powerful stopping power. For those who didn't die immediately from the machine guns were unfortunately trampled to death by their comrades. The mortar teams were relocated at the village's market place, where they continued to launch high explosive rounds from a safe distance.

"They're going to overrun us!" Shouted a Marine Corporal as the enemy steadily approached them.

The infantry and vehicles continued to lay down a wall of hot lead while slowly backing away to the village's center.

"Conserve your ammo! Aim center mass, five rounds should do!" Instructed Dukeman.

"Ah fuck! I'm hit!" Shouted a Marine private, on the ground with one hand holding the wound to his right leg and the other holding his M16A4, firing a couple of shots.

Two Marines came to his aid and lifted him of the ground and carried him to the medical station.

Raymond had his right eye glued to the rifle's combat optic, switching to one target after another after each burst. Like some mechanical turret, shifting his body left and right and taking digimon with rapid and deadly precision. Once his mag went empty, he reloaded his weapon in a second and resumed to fire at the imperials.

Suddenly, plumes of mud and blood shot into the sky from several areas in the enemy forward line, their infantry cried out in pain as more explosions took out their numbers. Caught by surprise and now in confusion and panic, the imperials started to flee in a disorganized mess.

" _This is Iron 1-2, 2nd Armoured division at your service, Lieutenant Itami."_

" _Thank God, you guys are here!"_ Raymond chuckled lightly upon hearig Itami's exclamation through his headset.

"Alright, Marines! Tank support just arrived! Let them have it, boys!" Encouraged loudly Dukeman. "Retreat?"

"Hell!"

The tide of battle has changed as Commander MachGaogamon let out a furious growl as he observes through his binoculars his troops fleeing.

"Who gave them the damn order to retreat?" He snarled and turned to his 2IC. "Get out there and lead them the other way." He ordered to NeoDevimon. "I'll handle their heavy support."

"As you wish, Commander." The Fallen Angel murmured before flying off to the frontlines.

"Sergeant Rapidmon! Get your team ready, you're all coming with me." The cyborg canine announced sternly.

With the tank support, the Marines and the Recon team managed to push back the imperials out of the first defensive line and reclaiming their trenches.

Dukeman made a slide towards the LAV-25 next to Raymond. He gave a little knock on the officer's helmet to grab his attention. Raymond turned back and listened.

"I think it'll be a good idea that we call Knightmon and his soldiers and go to the offensive."

"Good idea. Call them up now, I'll cover you."

The Staff Sergeant nodded and ran back to the backlines. Moments later, Raymond could hear multiple metal footsteps, even through the LAV's main gun firing. As he reloaded his rifle, a hundred white PawnChessmon ran pass him with their Knightmon leading the front and their king charging into the fray with them with an excited smile.

"In your positions, digimon!" Hollered Knightmon and took out his greatshield off his back.

As ordered, the white pawn digimon lined up and stacked upon each other on both the knight's sides. In unison, they raised their shields and an aura envelopped them. The shields were held closely and their spears poked out.

"Storm of Steel!"

The formation of a hundred chess pawn digimon started to move forward at a slow pace. Squad leaders of the joint coalition ordered their men to take cover behind the digimon wall while the light vehicles moved at their pace while still firing.

The imperials scrambled to regroup through their chaos. On one end, they were being blown to pieces by the human tanks and on the other, the defenders were conducting a counter-charge with everything they had. The wall formation stabbed at any nearby digimon in front of them while the IDDF soldiers gunned down those on the sides to prevent any flanking and encirclement.

"1st and 2nd squad, grenades out!" Ordered Raymond as he takes out a frag grenade.

The squads lined up and on the officer's mark, they hurled the hand grenades over the formation. The defenders had to stop as the grenades detonated, sending shrapnel and dirt over them. The grenades levelled everything off the grass and created instant foxholes for the human soldiers.

Just as they were about to move forward again, Raymond spun around to looked back at the tanks who didn't fire for the last minute. To his shock, the japanese tanks were being engaged by a small team of fast aerial digimon and they had lost already two tanks. His attention then turned behind him as he saw a fast flying digimon charging over them towards a Humvee. It lashed out two electrified claw attacks, slicing the gunner and the vehicle in half before exploding, killing the three passengers in it.

"Son of a bitch! Itami! Take your team and assist the tanks fast!" Itami gave a thumbs-up and entered in the lead vehicle and the japanese convoy drove away from the formation.

"4th squad with me!" He shouted and ran towards the destroyed Humvee.

The 4th squad encircled around the Fallen Angel digimon and opened fire. The NeoDevimon used his golden claws to deflect off most of the incoming bullets.

"Deep Sorrow!" He flapped his wings and shot out slow moving dark projectiles around him.

The dark auras pounced in every direction. A aura hit Raymond to the chest, the force was powerful enough to push him on the ground. Some Marines dodged the projectiles but a Marine private wasn't quick enough and took a shot to the face. The Private violently knelt over the grass and screamed in torture while covering his face with his hands, trying to grab something out as if there was something on his face.

"Fuck! Get it off of me! Get it off! Somebody help me!" He continued to scream while two Marines tackled him on the ground and tried to help him. Meanwhile the rest of the squad covered them. NeoDevimon flew in various spots above them to throw their aim off and dived down at another Marine.

"Guilty Claw!" He shouted before puncturing his left claw through the human.

The victim gasped in shock and pain. Blood leaked out of his punctured body armour and on the digimon's hand, and out of his mouth. The Marine gripped the left claw and looked up at the digimon's masked face with defiance as he slowly grabs for his combat knife.

NeoDevimon looked at his left claw with confusion and bewilderment. He didn't expected to actually fatally wound the soldier. There was no dark energy going through his victim's body like it was intended to. He then felt a strong grip on his claw and looked down at the soldier's face. The mortally wounded glared at him and let out a furocious battle cry as he stabbed NeoDevimon right between his ribcages.

The Fallen Angel snarled and took out his claw from the human's torso, blood splashed over his face. Suddenly he felt incoming heat near his face.

"Flame Fist, Motherfucker!" Roared Flamedramon as he shoots fireballs from his fists at point blank range.

The series of fireballs sent the digimon a few feet in the air before he crashed down a couple meters away. Raymond was pulled back up by a Marine before he walked up to the Fallen Angel and drew his sidearm up.

"Put your hands behind your head or we will shoot!" Warned Raymond while the Marines surrounded NeoDevimon, their weapons trained at the digimon.

"You really think you can take **me** out, **human**?" NeoDevimon sneered as he stood up slowly. "You're all nothing but meatshields. You will not win this war nor will you see the end of it!" Electricity charged in his claws as he extends them, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

"Shoot the wings now!" Ordered Raymond.

NeoDevimon let out an angered growl as bullets pierced his wings, rendering them useless. He jumped over a Marine and slashed his torso. Blood shot out of the body and rained on the digimon. The rest of 4th squad continued to open fire while walking backwards, staying as far away as possible.

As NeoDevimon launched to Flamedramon, the blue dragon raised his M16A4 rifle up at the last second to deflect the attack. The claw cut right through the rifle, slicing it in half. Flamedramon jumped away and paled once he inspects his rifle's condition.

NeoDevimon was about to lash out another series of attack at Flamedramon when all of the sudden he spotted a giant fireball coming straight for him. Ducking at the last second, the heated energy made contact with his wings and burned away whatever flesh remained on them.

"Thanks for the save, Shoutmon!" Yelled Flamedramon relieved.

While the NeoDevimon tried to take the flames off his back, Raymond charged towards his chest, a bayonet fixed on his rifle's barrel. He let out a battle cry as he thrusted his bayonet deep in his ribcages where, he assumed, the heart should be. NeoDevimon groaned in pain and swung a claw at the human's head. Raymond dodged it and used all of his strength to push the perfect-level Digimon to the ground.

Once he tumbled on the ground with him, he quickly drew out his bayonet out of the digimon's chest and fired multiple times on it. The Fallen Angel soon became data particles. Raymond stood at the spot for a few seconds, panting from the sudden rush of adrenaline surging in his body. He looked down at where the digimon used to be, comtemplating the droplets of blood that came down from his bayonet. Mild confusion clouded his mind before he felt a soft pressure on his right shoulder.

"Are you okay, sir?" Asked Flamedramon with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Replied Raymond before he faced the blue dragon. "How's your squad?"

"Two KIA and Charlie has been cursed, he's permanently blind." Reported sadly the sergeant.

"Get your men to the backlines now, we'll handle the rest." Instructed Raymond and Flamedramon gave a quick salute.

With the legionnaires' second-in-command gone, many soldiers started to surrender on the spot while others continued to flee from the battle. Enemy team leaders and officers would order some of their soldiers to execute those who retreat. On the Imperial forest camp, a platoon-size force attacked any nearby fleeing imperial soldier. Through the self-inflicted carnage, the Marines were instructed to escort the prisoners as fast as they can.

As the white PawnChessmon wall approached the now burned and desolated forest, the wall stabbed at the nearby infantry soldiers and jumped on them, the wall breaking and leaving space for Marines and their vehicles further deep in enemy territory.

Rushing through the ashen and barren forest, the Marine's advance was soon halted once they've reached the camp, the imperial artillery units pinning them. The Marines fired back while using tree stumps and craters as cover. LAVs and IFVs unleashed storms of lead as they charged through the camp.

In half an hour, the Marines and the JSDF recon team were victorious. What seemed to be impossible ended in a roaring cheer. Though MachGaogamon hasn't been neutralized, he surrendered once he saw the Marines had broken through his defensive line.

Between the decayed forest and the damaged village, what was once a beautiful plain filled with lush green grass and various colorful flowers, was now a barren and destroyed landscape. Filled with smoking craters and mud, the flowers crushed and ruined by the vehicles and boots. The smell of gunpowder replaced the pure clean air, bullet casings and blood littered the ground.

The Marines were being ordered to escort and to keep watch on their prisoners at the village's first defensive line. The Marines surrounded the group of prisonners that sat down. Their weapons were still drawn out in case one of the POWs decide to fight back. And if that case came true, the humans will definitively be annihilated, their numbers are too short to hold them off again.

"Listen up! While the medics inspect the soldiers for any woundeds, distribute around MREs to the prisoners." Instructed Raymond as he opens a rucksack filled with Meal Ready to Eat rations and tossed one at a Commandramon.

Some Marines gathered around the rucksack, took a handful off MREs and distributed to the prisoners. The digimon were at first hesitant but accepted respectfully the rations.

While the food ration distribution happened, Itami, Yamaki, Kuwabara, Kuribayashi and some tank team leaders were gathered in an abandonned civilian home. They had their arms crossed and looks of worries plastered on their face as Itami tried for the last 10 minutes to contact the main base on the radio.

"Golf-Zulu, this is Recon 3-Actual, respond. We have multiple wounded and prisoners to evacuate. Please respond."

Itami sighed after a full minute of silence. But he did not give up hope yet. He fumbled around with the radio and tuned in again.

"Any station, this is Recon 3-Actual of the JSDF. We have multiple wounded and prisoners to evacuate. We're currently low on ammo and numbers. To any station, please respond."

Itami repeated the message several times until he finally heard something on the other end.

" _This is Warhammer of the RAF. We just got back from a firing mission but we can guide you to our base. What's your location?"_

Itami beamed like a Christmas tree and quickly gave out the coordinates. Some of the men in the building cheered. Yamaki let out a sigh and leaned against the wall, flicking his lighter playfully. It was finally time to get out of this mess.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17:

Out of the frying pan, into the fire

 _2 hours after the siege._

"I didn't expect that your base was actually my castle, Lieutenant." Commented Shoutmon.

"Neither do I..." Replied Raymond with surprise.

After gathering and loading their wounded and POWs in SA 330 Pumas by the RAF for evac, the rest of the soldiers followed the transport helicopters by ground vehicles and arrived at Shoutmon's castle.

The castle stood on a rocky hill, covered by several small forests. At 200 meters high and stretching at 1000 meters in lenght, the enclosing walls and massive loop towers gave an imposing but safe feeling to the castle. It was the citadel for the city of Parth Goedwig, the capital and the only city in the Forest Zone.

Once in the castle, the structures had an European and medival style. A large stone paved courtyard occupied the central part of the castle, surrounded by multiple buildings, each with their own utility. At the end of the courtyard stood proudly the king's personal residence, the _Rhosyn Galon_.

The castle had its own courtyard, closed on the outside by a monumental iron gate, which is framed on two sides by low walls and tall fences. The main building consisted of two floors, all filled with large rectangular windows, framing the main body of which the façade includes a central fore-body with four columns, surmounted by a triangular pediment. The rear façade of the main building is supported by a strong basement on the terrace for compensating the slope of the ground, with monumental staircases with multiple ramps.

Though it was Shoutmon's residence, it also acted as a military headquarter and secondary hosptital since the beginning of the war.

While Raymond, Itami and Yamaki followed Shoutmon to his residence, they took quick glances in the bustling courtyard. Military land and air vehicles were placed alongside the surrounding buildings. British troops of different jobs ran back and forth, most of the time in groups where they carry ammo crates, sandbags or wounded soldiers on stretchers.

Once they neared the residence, they were met with a worried looking Lilymon and a middle-aged military officer.

"Welcome back, your majesty!" She bowed down politely. "Sorry for the trouble but these soldiers thought the castle was empty and they needed a base to evacuate and reinforce some of their forces."

"You don't need to be sorry." The red dragon held his hand up sheepishly. "I'm actually quite impressed and proud that you took some initiatives." He stated happily, earning him a genuine smile from the fairy digimon. Shoutmon returned the smile before meeting the military officer.

"Major Ramsey, commanding officer of B company, 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment." The Major offered his hand, to which Shoutmon shook it in response. "I hope you don't mind us crashing unexpectedly in your domain, your majesty." He added with a guilty smile.

"As long as we're on the same side, I'm fine."

"In that case, you don't mind us using a part of your castle as our headquarters, then."

"There's enough space in my home, Major."

"Thank you, sire." Ramsey said gratefully before turning at the two lieutenants. "You must be the chaps of the previously sieged village."

Raymond and Itami simply nodded quietly.

"Well, I have bad news and good news for you both. Which one would like to hear?"

The two officers looked at each other for a second before Raymond spoke out their opinion.

"Let's stomach the bad news first." He replied with a hint of sarcasm.

"Very well... The bad news is that camp _Green Zone_ has been completely overrun and destroyed. All 500 american troops in there were either killed or captured." He started, surprised looks from the group stared at him. He coughed a little bit before he went on "The reinforcements that the JGSDF sent has been pushed back by enemy forces and the tank support was ambushed, all tank crewmembers are KIA. We were sent as a relief force for you but with the recent loss of our only main base in this zone, we were ordered to "make" another one. The imperials had cut off all major routes except the one to the Village of Smiles."

"That means that the imperials broke through our offensive..." Stated Raymond, slowly realizing the situation they were in.

"Correct. It also means that we are now at the fore-front of the imperial's counter-charge." Informed the Major. "Intel suggest that the assault force is between 2,000 and 4,000 digimon."

"So what's the plan now?" Asked Itami while rubbing the back of his head.

"For now, we'll just have to boost up our defenses and hold our grounds until we receive reinforcements. Now gentlemen, I'll leave it to you to share the info with the rest of your men and meet me here in 4 hours."

"Yes, sir." They both saluted and went off to their respective soldiers.

"You're kidding, right?" Asked nervously Flamedramon after he heard the news.

"I'm afraid no. We'll just have to wait here and hope for the best." Raymond looked at the team leaders, waiting for another complaint from them. None spoke up. "With that said, get yourselves some rest and shower. We'll be staying at the right wing building, the 3rd floor. There is enough room for the whole platoon. These are dorms that constist of 6 to 7 beds per room, a small dorm but it's big enough to walk around." He announced as he passes around bedroom keys to the NCOs. "We'll have another team leaders' meeting in 6 hours, so there's plenty of time to get some sleep. Welcome to your new home, Marines."

 _Rhosyn Galon headquarters._

"Did we receive any news from the RKs by any chance?" Asked Itami with a hint of hope in his voice.

"For now, no. But we did send a reinforcement request at them by comms two hours ago." Informed the Major.

While the two officers discuss in front of the white board, where maps of the zone and military codes were sticked on, Raymond sat on a chair in the corner of the briefing room, staring at the ground blankly. Unbeknownst to him, his hands were beginning to shake on their own. His heartbeat quickened as he feels lightheaded and his vision blurring.

"Raymond?" Asked a voice with worry. "Raymond!"

The lieutenant snapped his mind back to reality, feeling himself being shaken by someone. Itami had shaken him for several seconds, looking at his friend with concern.

"You okay, son? You seem to have black out for a second there." Questionned Major Ramsey.

"Yes, sir. Do you mind if I go outside to get some fresh air?" Raymond asked as he stood up from his seat.

"Sure but Itami is going to accompany you for the time being then. And that's an order." He imposed sternly, sensing that the Marine officer is starting to brake.

Raymond reluctantly gave a salute at the Major and walked out of the room with Itami behind him. Raymond walked outside at a rapid pace, Itami was pratically running after him. As he reached the front gates of Shoutmon's residence, his legs gave out and he dropped on the ground harshly. Itami urgently ran to his side and tried to put the Marine on his feet. He then heard that Raymond was puking out saliva and tears started to fall from his eyes. Raymond's consciousness soon fade out.

"God damnit... Medic! I need a medic now!" Itami quickly shouted as several soldiers rushed at him and help the Marine.

Dukeman walked out of the medical room and let out a sigh while almost every Marine in the platoon waited for him in a tense silence for the news.

"The LT's fine. We do not know the cause of this 'incident' but Doc speculates that he might be breaking down. " He informed grimly.

Some Marines looked worried while others breathe out of relief that their platoon commander is still fine.

"So what are we going to do, Sarge?" Asked a Marine.

"First of all, you grunts better piss off or else he'll get sick even more..." He said jokingly. "And second, just do your jobs and everything will be fine. Oorah?"

"Oorah, staff sergeant." They all replied and went in separate ways.

"Um... Staff Sergeant Dukeman?" Called Guilmon behind his back.

"What is it, Corporal?"

"Are we allowed to pay a visit to the LT?"

Dukeman just looked at the red digimon with mild surprise before letting a small smile.

"Go ahead, Guilmon. You have 5 minutes."

"Thanks, Louis."

Entering the room quietly, Guilmon spotted Stephen sitting on his bed, tying his combat boots on and was about to put on his kevlar plate carrier until he noticed Guilmon in the room.

"Aren't you suppose to get some rest until the next meeting?" Stephen inquired.

"The same could be said for you." Shot back the digimon with a sly smile.

Stephen chuckled and dropped his plate carrier on the ground.

"Touché. You got me." He replied while raising his hands in a mock surrender.

Guilmon frowned and sat next to him on the edge of the bed. They sat in silence, not a word has been spoken. Then Guilmon wrapped his arms around Stephen in a warm hug and placed his head on the human's shoulder. The embrace prompted Stephen to laughed lightly and hug the digimon back.

"Some things don't change in you, huh?"

"Hey, I like hugs. And if it makes my friends happy then I'm happy." Stated Guilmon with a childish grin.

"Good thing we know each other or else your girlfriend is probably going to kill me."

"That'll probably never happen, Ray." Renamon fazed in the room with a smirk on her face.

"Hi there." Stephen greeted nonchalantly.

The fox digimon sat on the other side of the bed and took out a chocolate bar from the admin pouch on her plate carrier.

"Here, you can have mine." She gave the chocolate to Raymond, who accepted it gratefully.

"Never thought I'll see the day that Renamon would give out a chocolate bar." Commented Guilmon with humour and all three of them laughed.

They talked about various topics, their coversation made them forget all the combat stress they had since the war. Renamon and Guilmon had to leave once Dukeman called them out. With one final wave of goodbye, and a hug from Guilmon, the two digimon left him in the room alone. Stephen had a smile on his face before sighing and decided to sleep for the rest of the night.

 _The next morning_

Rapid footsteps, followed with soldiers shouting and distant gun fire could be heard on the other side of the room as Raymond put on his helmet and picked up his rifle quickly.

Rushing out of the room, he was pushed around accidentally by several British soldiers, who kept on running down the hallway. Hearing an explosion, that shook the building, he took off at a full sprint towards the sound of the explosion.

Once out of Rhosyn Galon, he bumped into Dukeman,who has been looking for him.

"What's the sitrep?" Demanded Raymond.

"We've been hit by imperial air force before three infantry companies showed up and are currently bombarding us with their artillery."

"What's our objective, then?"

"Major Ramsey wants us and several elements of the Fusion Fighters to hold the left flank, located at a small fortification on a nearby hill named 'Olive Hill Fort'."

"Why does he wants us there?" Raymond asked with mild confusion.

"He said that the Fusion Fighters apparently have some artillery themselves and I presumed we are escorting them." Responded Dukeman before they both ducked on the ground from a nearby air attack.

"Is everyone ready?"

"I sent 3rd and 4th squad with the mortar team to the fort to hold it while 1st and 2nd squad is waiting for the Fusion Fighters. Recon squads are on the watchtowers to provide us cover fire. Both LAVs are lock and loaded and they'll provide us the firepower we need to rush to the hill."

"Good thinking, Staff Sergeant." Commented Raymond before going in the lead M-ATV.

 _Olive Hill Fort._

The fort was several stone buildings surrounded by Hesco Barriers and four plywood scout towers at the corners of the fortification. The towers were reinforced with sandbags and barb wires. The fortification had two entries, one on the back that led to Parth Goedwig and one on the right that led to the castle. Both entries had small trenches digged on each sides, reinforced with sandbags and machine gun emplacements.

As soon as the 3rd and 4th squad arrived, they were being pinned down by enemy light armour and waves of infantry charging at them. With the mortar team deployed and the LMGs set in the towers, the Marines were quick enough to repel back the enemy.

Giving a light tap on the M16A4's lower receiver, Flamedramon got out of his cover and fired several quick bursts to take three Commandramon out. Right beside him was Cyberdramon, who spit out tracer rounds at the ongoing charge.

"Fuck! At this rate, we'll get overrun soon." Complained Cyberdramon as he got down to cover to reload his machine gun.

"Not on my fucking watch!" Flamedramon took a frag grenade out of his plate carrier and threw it 100 meters ahead.

The small explosive detonated and launched two digimon up in the air before they turned in data particles in mid-air.

"Hostiles coming in at a hundred meters from our perimeter." He radioed in to the mortar team.

" _100 meters, 5 rounds, fire for effect."_ Replied Guilmon.

The distinctive whistles of the mortar shells prompted Flamedramon to look up at the sky and follow the trace of smoke with his eyes. The H.E rounds pounded ground and digimon all along the right flank of the fort.

"Good fucking effect on target, enemy repelled, fire at 200 meters." Reported the blue dragon.

" _Roger that, 200 meters, 5 rounds, fire for effect."_

"Keep up the good work, Guilmon!" Cyberdramon exclaimed at his friend.

"How are the wounded, Doc?" Asked Flamedramon to Naval Medic, Cpl."Doc" Ryan.

"Brits are fine for now." He replied back.

" _1-3, this is 1-1, we're inbound with the artillery."_ Informed Dukeman.

"Roger that, road is clear for now."

Looking back at the front entry point, several M-ATVs, MRAPs and 2 LAVs drove in and immediately stopped to deploy the Marines and Fusion Fighters out. Flamedramon ran up to Raymond and gave him a quick salute.

"Welcome back, sir. Hope you're feeling well now."

"Thanks, Sergeant. What's the status now?"

"Hostile foot mobiles are trying to overrun this fort but we are holding them off so far. I have several British wounded who needs to be evacuated ASAP."

"Take your squad and evacuate them, we'll continue from here." Ordered Raymond.

Flamedramon nodded and called his squad to help the wounded get in the vehicles. Raymond calmly walked to the Hesco Barriers and examined the battlefield. After some quick thinking to come up with a plan, Raymond called his second-in-command.

"Dukeman! Get Cruncher 1 to guard the main entry point and Cruncher 2 to the left flank to give us suppressive fire."

"Yes, sir!"

Raymond then looked around him and spotted the radio specialist.

"DD! With me now!"

The specialist followed the officer as he walks along the defensive walls while examinating the enemy movement. Soon he heard the Bushmaster Chain guns of both LAVs firing, gunning down any enemy digimon who got close to the defensive perimeter. The M240 LMGs on the vehicles spewed out 7.62mm rounds at the infantry and aerial digimon.

"Are the Fusion Fighters finally in place?" Asked Raymond, noticing that their artillery hadn't fired a single shot.

"Yes, sir."

"Then why haven't they fire a single shot?" Raymond asked frustrated. Darrack simply shook his head and shrugged.

Raymond swore under his breath and stormed off to the backlines where the artilleries were suppose to deploy. Nearing the mortar team, Raymond and Darrack were witnessing Guilmon and a MetalGarurumon arguing.

"Danger close, you stupid dog! Have you ever heard of that!" Shouted angrily Guilmon.

"I know what it means, lizard, but my orders are clear! We will fire at Bravo 4 grid 1378." Growled back MetalGarurumon. "Now, corporal, I advise you to go back to your hole or I'll report you for insubordination." He threatened.

Guilmon was about to step forward and lash out at the mechanical digimon until he heard the stern voice of Raymond yelling at him.

"Stand down, Guilmon, you're way out of line!"

The dino digimon growled and went back with the rest of his teammates. MetalGarurumon looked at the digimon with a smug smile. Suddenly, he felt something hitting his snout violently.

"Read me the coordinates again and point me at the map the corresponded coordination." Raymond sternly demanded after shoving a map at the digimon's snout. "Come on, tell me where the coordinates are located."

The digimon gulped and examined the map.

"Just half a klick above the trenches." He replied nervously.

"Yeah that's right. Where MY men are at." Raymond ripped the map off of his snout and pointed his pistol at his right eye while glaring at him. "If you dare open fire at my Marines, I'll personally blow an eyeball out of your eye sockets, am I fucking clear, you stupid fuck?"

MetalGarurumon hesitantly nodded and Raymond pulled out the pistol.

"Good. Now under MY orders, your team will fire at Bravo 5 to Charlie 5 on grids 1 to 6. I want 3 rounds of high explosives and clusters if you have any. Did you get that?" Ordered Raymond.

The cyborg digimon quickly nodded and ordered his team to deploy. Satisfied, Raymond turned back to the frontlines with Darrack just behind.

With that problem resolved, large smoke streaks came out of the fort and pounded the enemy force. Whistles of artillery projectiles filled the sky, sounding the impending doom of the Imperials. After each strike, slowly, the enemy waves were pulling back. The smoking craters separated the assault force in two and the retreating force left behind those who were close to the fort. The morale amongst the enemy was at a breaking point.

Under artillery cover, a British infantry platoon was able to join up with the Marines to boost up the defenses. Though retreating, the imperials did not stop on the offensive as firefights continued on during the night.

Ammo and soldiers were being exchanged between the two fortifications in the form of heavily armoured vehicles. With the imperial infantry force decimated and out of the fight for the rest of the night, the joint defense force were dealing with the aerial force who conducted hit and run tactics at the two bases.

After a long and heavy fighting during the night, dawn came over and basked the landscape with its warmth. The early morning fog was preventing enemy operations and so the coalition use the moment to finally breathe.

Along the Hesco barriers, several Marines and British Paratroopers were sleeping with their backs against the barriers. These soldiers had been fighting non-stop the whole night as the Olive Hill fortification was the Imperial's control point. Raymond was casually observing the frontlines in the wooden outpost through his binoculars. Beneath his feet were countless bullet casings littering the floor due to the previous firefight. Next to him, sleeping behind cover and sandbags was Sergeant Flamedramon, his M16A4 leaning against him.

Raymond sat down on one of the ammo boxes, took off his helmet and examined carefully his M4A1 rifle. Sadly for him, his rifle could no further serve him as it was broken beyond repair. A round pierced through the upper receiver, destroying the barrel and piston inside. The lieutenant let out a sigh and unclipped the rifle from his plate carrier's straps. He picked up another rifle, a L85A2, given to him by a British Paratrooper as a remplacement for the mean time. He did a quick inspection on the new assault rifle before gently waking the blue digimon and ordered him to wake the other soldiers.

After a couple minutes later, Raymond ordered the NCOs of his platoon for a team leader meeting.

"As you may notice, we'll be stuck here for a while and our numbers are getting shorter." He started while looking at his tired subordinates. "Some fireteams and even squads do not have enough men or lost their leaders. That is why I take upon myself to fuse some squads together." He took out a small note from his admin pouch. "1st and 2nd squad will take fireteam Alpha and Bravo from 6th squad respectively. 3rd squad will take over 5th squad and 4th squad will act as the assault team for the mortar team. Sergeant Grant, you'll be acting as the 2IC of 3rd squad. Sergeant Flamedramon, Cpl. Guilmon will be your 2IC. Any questions?"

Dukeman raised his hand. "What about Recon squad?"

"Recon squad has only a change in command, Sergeant Renamon is the squad leader. Any others?"

After a short moment of silence, he concluded the meeting. "Alright gents, inform the men of these changes and get ready for another fight. Oorah?"

"Oorah, Lieutenant!"

Meanwhile back at the castle, Kuribayashi was sleeping soundly on the ground against a corner of the medical room. Near her was combat medic Kurokawa, who was sleeping on a table, her head resting on top of her kevlar helmet. She suddenly woke up when she heard loud footsteps running pass the door. She rubbed her eyes and looked around hazily. She then yawned and picked up her helmet and her Howa Type 89 rifle. Walking up to the sleeping Shino Kuribayashi, she called her name a few times before hitting her head lightly with her helmet. Kuribayashi jumped in surprised and glared at her friend.

"Wake up, sleepy head, we've got lot of work to do." Informed the medic while they both put their combat armour.

"I know, I know..." Shino said with a tired tone.

An hour as passed without a single noise, the morning fog slowly dissipated and the sun now shun brightly above the valleys and plains. However the moment of nature and peace was short lived once the fog was completely gone.

The Imperials resumed their assaults, their long range units were suppressing the enemy while the main infantry force charged in. With the craters left from the other day, the imperial foot soldiers used them as trenches once the humans' heavy guns opened fire.

Kurata and Kuribayashi were carrying a wounded paratrooper on a stretcher, going as fast as they could towards the medical station. Upon arriving, the station was filled with the cries and moans of wounded soldiers. Digimon physicians and human medics were working non-stop, doing their best to treat the wounds and ease the pain.

"Oi, you two, put him over here!" Called loudly a combat medic, pointing at a nearby medical bed.

They carried the wounded over the bed. While Kuribayashi took out the soldier's body armour Kurata gave the medic the necessary informations on the soldier.

"He's CAT Alpha. Multiple chest wounds, an amputee on the left foot and 3rd degree burns on his left arm."

"Alright, thanks lad." The medic patted his shoulder before shouting. "I have a CAT Alpha! Chest Wounds, Amputee and 3rd degree burns!".

Several Digimon and medics came to him and quickly started to treat the wounds of the paratrooper. Just as they leave the room, Takeo and Shino turned their heads to another room once they heard a defibrillator and shouting going on. Looking over, they saw a severely wounded paratrooper covered in blood and bandages. A medic was charging up the defibs before shouting "Clear!" and applied the devices on the wounded's chest, sending electric shocks. The medical staff desperately tried to bring the paratrooper back to life for a few more minutes before hanging their heads in sorry and sadness, he didn't make it. The room was filled with a grim silence, some of the digimon medics shed a few tears before envelopping the KIA in a body bag.

Shino whispered a small prayer for the now deceased soldier while Takeo saluted when the body bag exited the room. It was a small habit, honoring the dead, they picked up since the beginning of their intervention, realizing that the death toll would get higher the deeper they went in enemy held territory.

A red mist exploded once the bullet hit its target. Renamon pulled the bolt back, turned it and pushed it back in, inserting a new bullet in the sniper rifle's chamber. Aiming down the scope, she picked another target and slowed down her breathing. A second later, she pulled the trigger, the rifle kicked up a bit, followed by her target's head jerking up when the bullet impacted its skull. Each shot she fired was an imperial dead. Her quick reflex and keen eyes along her deadly precision allowed her to take out imperial leaders in short time.

"Jesus Christ, if we keep this up they'll run out of officers to order their troops around." Roach said, impressed.

"Isn't that what we are trained for?" Asked amusingly Renamon after taking out another digimon.

"I'm just quite surprised they haven't lost morale yet." Replied Roach while inserting another magazine in his SR-25 DMR.

Roach took up his fire position and opened fired at the general infantry. Their suppressed rifles gave the enemy a hard time to pinpoint the origin of the incoming shots.

Looking down at the scope, Renamon searched for any potential officers until she stopped at a Musyamon. Her cold gaze was trained on the digimon, the crosshair aimed at his head. Waving his sword around, she assumed that he must be an officer by the way he spoke and stand out. She held her breath and slowly pulled the trigger. In a blink of an eye, the bullet penetrated the samurai's helmet and into his skull, a large cloud of blood erupted out, however he did not die. Screaming in pain and a bloody gaping hole on his left eye socket, he immediately glared at Renamon across the battlefield and yelled orders at his troops.

"Roach, we've got company." She warned him. "Samurai digimon, my 12, 300 meters, behind a trench line."

"The one with the ugly gaping hole?"

"That's the one. He's an officer and he's pissed."

"No shit. Nice shot though." Complimented Roach before firing repeatedly his rifle.

"Take out the Commandramon on his left and then aim for the head." She informed him.

Roach quickly took out the soldier digimon with three shots to the chest before he aimed at the samurai demon. He fired at a quick session, managing to pin the officer down. With the Musyamon pinned, Renamon used the opportunity to re-insert a bullet in the chamber, aimed for the head and pulled the trigger. This time, the shot exploded Musyamon's jaw apart and died right after.

"Looks like that did the trick." Roach pointed out as the hostile troops panicked and started to pull out.

" _To all units, cease fire! Cease fire!"_ Renamon heard Raymond's order through the radio.

A minute later, the firefight ended. The coalition force stopped firing while the enemy scrambled and retreated. From their watchtower, Renamon looked at the retreating force then at the landscape below them. The grass field was filled at every inch with craters inflicted by the two armies. Scattered equipment and pools of blood could be seen throught the darkened mud holes and craters. Through the hellish landscape, several wounded imperials were crying for help, left behind by their comrades. She heard the castle's main gates opened and a small convoy of British transport vehicles drove out.

The vehicles fan out in a scattered way and troops started to pour in the muddy ground. However, these soldiers were not sent to kill the survivors but instead help them. Military medics and a handful of Marines and Paratroopers assisted them and carried the wounded on stretchers to the vehicles.

The extraction of enemy wounded proceeded for half an hour later as more and more digimon cried out for help. The soldiers on the ground worked tirelessly on extracting every single wounded out of the battlefield.

From the balcony of his residence, Shoutmon observed the unusual scene of respect and solitude through a pair of binoculars. Behind him were Knightmon and Dorulumon, who looked at the scene as well.

"How perculiar, don't you think, sire?" Asked Knightmon.

"Indeed. For an army that claims to be aggressive and cold-blooded, they have a great sense of honour and respect for the enemy. If only the Imperials would show the same." The king replied before lowering the binoculars from his eyes.

Noticing the sudden change of expression, Dorulumon asked "Something on your mind, Shoutmon?"

"Oh? Not really... Just wondering if the end of this war would come soon now with the help of the humans." Shoutmon answered with a tired voice. "All those years of fighting and bloodshed will be over soon. I can feel it." He added with a small smile of hope.

"We all do, Shoutmon, we all do." Dorulumon stated with a glimpse of hope in his voice.


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18:

The Bloody Hill

 _A week later._

Several days of grueling battle has passed and the end was nowhere in sight. Though the coalition force managed to get air support and air dropped supplies, the casualty reports were still going high. Word from Command announced that the main IDDF force is now re-pushing the enemy lines and day by day, reinforcements would arrive.

Raymond slowly chewed on his cereal bar inside the M-ATV with his radio headset on, listening intently on the military traffic. Words were exchanged between the forces of the IDDF, reports of several mini victorious skirmishes and territorial gain piled in. Each victory meant a step further to finally get some reinforcements they've waited for a full week.

Suddenly, Raymond heard multiple thundering noises coming beyond the fortifications. Marines and Paratroopers scattered themselves and shouted everyone to cover, the whistles of death nearing the camp.

Raymond jumped out of the vehicle, sprinted towards a foxhole digged by some soldiers and dived in. The ground around him shook violently, sending large clouds of dirt in the air. A building got demolished and some vehicles got destroyed. The Fusion Fighters artillery reacted as quickly as possible and fired back in response.

The humans in the hill ran to the Hesco barriers and took up firing positions. Orders were being passed around at a frantic rate as they heard the roars of their enemies coming out of their trenches located more than 200 meters away.

"Holy shit, lads! Here they come! Give them hell!" Shouted a British Sergeant before the barriers lit up.

Raymond joined with the soldiers on the barriers and fired multiple long bursts from his L85A2. The mortars soon pounded the charging force with H.E and cluster ammunations.

In just five minutes, the day turned into a hectic and chaotic firefight. Imperial foot soldiers were being gunned down while trying to climb up to the hill through the deep and slippery mud craters.

The Browning Heavy Machineguns from the outposts spewed out their deadly rounds down at them. One by one, infantry soldiers dropped dead but it wasn't enough to fully stop the main charging force.

Jumping over the defenders trenchlines, Raymond took his radio and shouted at Guilmon. "Guilmon! Broken Arrow! Blow them now!" He signaled.

A moment later and the entire friendly and empty trenchline blew up in a blazing explosion.

The tons of C4, dynamites and other explosives were set in the trenches as a booby trap, a last resort to decimate the enemy. Plumes of dirt shot up, burying several digimon alive. The sheer amount of explosives was enough to shake the earth and creating an avalanche of mud that slowed down the offensive. However, the explosions also left the defenders and the attackers disoriented, the loud noise was enough make anyone near the area deaf.

Hearing bells inside his ear drums, Raymond rubbed his ears and shook his head frantically. Eventhough he expected a loud detonation, he nor everyone else anticipated to be this loud. After regaining some senses after a few seconds of shaking, Raymond slowly stood up and took aim. He fired a shot but missed since the bells in his ears were still disorienting him. Another problem that he did not expect was that some of the Hesco barriers were shredded and the dirt fell out, rendering the first lower cover useless.

"Get back to the fight, Marines!" Yelled Raymond, fully recovered. "DD! Get me the Major now!"

While the Olive Hill Fort was under attack, the castle was being shelled by hostile artilleries and frequent air raids. Walking at a quick pace through the courtyard, Major Ramsey was shouting orders left and right, followed behind by his 2 IC and a couple of radio specialists.

"Sir, Echo 1-actual of the Marines is requesting you." Informed a Specialist.

"Let me guess: he wants reinforcements."

"Yes sir."

"What's the status report on Olive Hill?" Ramsey demanded.

"They're getting overrun and are outnumbered as we speak." Sergeant-Major Colls responded.

"Thought so. These Imp blokes think they can distract us from that hill. Sergeant-Major, I want you to take 3rd platoon, the japanese recon team and four Warriors. Flank right to the enemy formation, that should break their assault and give some relief for the chaps at the hill." Ramsey ordred sternly. "Get me the RAF, Specialist. I'm gonna show these fockers who they're messing with."

"Aye, Major!"

Gathering the paratroopers around him, Colls climbed on to the hood of a Mastiff PPV and stated loudly:

"Listen up! We're sent as a relief force for the Marines back at Olive Hill. As we speak, they're being overrun by an entire battalion of Imperials. We will act as a distraction, leaving some breathing room for them to re-arm and regroup. Give those Digi bastards hell and no mercy! We're paras!"

"And Ready for anything!" The soldiers shouted their motto in unison.

The castle's main gates opened and the armoured vehicles rushed out to the battlefield. The four FV 510 Warriors covered the convoy's flanks, spewing out 30mm rounds from their L21A1 RARDEN cannon. The M240s and .50 cals mounted on the light vehicles barked furiously, tracers went in every direction as the convoy steered to the right side of the hill. With less than a 100 meters apart, the paras in the vehicles opened fired, small arms bullets suppressed the enemy. Making a ninety degree turn, the convoy stopped at the side of hill to let the infantry out. The paratroopers took firing positions on the ground or behind the Mastiffs. Several grenadiers launched 40mm high explosives grenades overhead their positions.

Inside the hill fortifications, Marines and Paratroopers were retreating from the Hesco barriers and took cover behing the dug out foxholes a few meters away from the mortar team. As the imperials slowly climbed over the barriers and barb wires, the defenders gunned down as much as possible before the imperial force approached their 2nd and last defensive line.

"Here they come! Fix bayonets!" Ordered Dukeman before throwing another frag grenade out.

Flamedramon fired in semi-auto his rifle to conserve his ammo until he noticed the barrel of his weapon was starting to smoke and reddening. He fired a shot but the bullet got jammed in the barrel.

"Crap! Gun jam!"

He desperately tried to unjam the bullet when suddenly he heard a Commandramon screaming at him. With a brief second of reflex, he threw his M16A4 at the enemy and hurled a fireball from his hand.

"Flame Fist!" He shouted furiously as he launches the attack at the digimon.

The fireball set the digimon ablaze. The imperial trooper screamed in agony from the burning pain before going on a blind and suicidal charge towards Flamedramon. The blue dragon quickly took out his sidearm and fired a couple of rounds to the chest.

With the 2nd defensive line now overrun, the coalition force's soldiers made their last stand in a brutal and savage melee combat in their muddy foxholes. It was a handful of soldiers, less than a company size against an entire battalion.

The humans used everything they had to destroy their foe. From the bayonet to the entrenching tool, bashing the foe's head with the weapon's buttstock or bare hands. The humans' warcry rivalled those of the Imperium. Adrenaline pumped in each and every soldier, fighting with every bit of brute force and determination to destroy the other from the face of this world.

Fighting side by side, Guilmon and his partner/friend, Lcpl. Harris, held their ground in front of the mortars. The digimon launched his attacks and took care of any nearby hostile while Harris open fired, switching constantly between his M16A4 and M9. In mid-reload, Harris saw a Sealsdramon charging at him. He was about to call help to Guilmon only to notice that his digimon friend was in the middle of a fight with a WereGarurumon. Harris quickly parried the Sealsdramon's strike with his rifle, however on the second strike, he wasn't fast enough and caught the blade through his right hand.

"Ah Fuck!" He shouted in pain before he elbowed his opponent to the ground.

He quickly and painfully took out the blade from his hand and knelt on his enemy, throwing punches filled with animalistic rage.

"You! Fucking! Piece! Of! Shit!" He growled at each hit.

He grabbed the hand-held shovel behind him and resumed bashing the digimon's head until there was only a pool of blood that came out from his masked-face, pouring on the barren soil. Guilmon watched his friend in horror as Harris keep up with the bashing, not showing any signs of fatigue.

"Guilmon! Guilmon!" Cyberdramon shook his paled digimon friend hastilly.

The hazard digimon shook back to reality and looked back at Cyberdramon. The cyborg digimon was covered in mud, bruises and blood, either it was his or someone else's, he couldn't tell.

"Guilmon, man the mortar. Help is on the way, I'll cover you." Cyberdramon told him before taking his LMG and open fired.

Guilmon turned back to find Harris, he was sitting on the ground, his head hung low and hidden by his hands. He was breathing shakingly and seemed to be lost. His hands were completely covered in blood.

Taking out the combat knife from the Commandramon's chest, Raymond then fired two shots at center mass. A Sealsdramon jumped in his foxhole and knocked his rifle out of his hands. The digimon took his knife and went for a thrust. Catching his hand, Raymond barely avoided the strike and hit the digimon's snout with a powerful elbow strike. The blow was enough to knock the digimon back and give some space between them. Raymond followed his attack with a kick to the torso, then bashed his head with a nearby shovel. Knocked out and unconscious, Raymond let out a sigh of relief and grabbed his rifle.

The Imperial force has once again started to retreat. The 3rd Recon team along a handful of paratroopers arrived in the outpost and immediately fired at the enemy. Shortly after, attack jets from the JASDF and RAF flew overhead and gunned down enemy positions. Bombs were dropped and salvos of heavy machine gun fire annilihated the imperials' artillery units.

Mustering as much troops as they can, the Marines, JSDF and Paratroopers chased down the hostile foot mobiles out of Olive Hill. Dorulumon and Shoutmon, with a few dozens of their soldiers, charged out and met their foes in the open battlefield. Worn out and disoriented, the remaining forces of the 30th Legion held their grounds and fought to the last.

Slowly going down the hill's muddy and ruined slope, the Marines and Paratroopers opened fire at the enemy's left flank, much of their infantry were too focused on the Fusion Fighters.

Ordering the formation to a halt, Raymond and his platoon took positions and fired. Switching from one target to another, Raymond had his right eye glued to the ACOG of the L85A2, firing two to four rounds per target. Loading a new mag in, he knelt down to get a better recoil control and better aim. Thirty shots later, he tried to find for a new STANAG magazine before switching to his sidearm and advance towards the enemy's flank. His men followed suit, the formation closed in and linked up with the Fusion Fighters and the rest of the British Company.

Forming a ball of energy, Shoutmon jumped to the air and hurled his energy in the shape of an eighth note at his opponent. "Fiery Fastball!"

The beat down Ignitemon didn't react fast enough to block the attack and so was knocked out to the ground. Landing with a harsh grunt, the Ignitemon limply tried to crawl away. Then he felt a powerful blow to his chest and was kicked to lay on his back. Stomping on his already broken ribs, a Marine pointed his M16A4 rifle to his face. The digimon gulped.

"M-m-mercy..." He croacked out in fear.

The human was about to shoot until he heard Shoutmon shouting at him.

"Don't! He surrendered."

"Lucky basterd..." The Marine growled before releasing the digimon and grabbed him by the arm.

The soldier was about the retort at the small dragon digimon but got suddenly bitten by a Gaogamon. The human cried in pain and horror as his right ribcage was simply being torn apart by the oversize canine digimon. Ignitemon ran away and cowarded behind Shoutmon.

Spitting the human out of his powerful maw, Gaogamon then glared at Shoutmon and dashes towards his new foe.

"Spiral Blow!" He shouted before releasing a powerful vortex wind from his mouth.

Shoutmon grabbed Ignitemon and firmly planted his McField Mic to the ground, bracing himself for the incoming vortex. The attack was strong but Shoutmon managed to hold his ground, being pushed only by a few meters.

"Gaoga Hound!" The beast digimon jumped at Shoutmon with his jaw wide open, aiming to bite off his opponent's throat.

Fortunately for Shoutmon, he had quick reflexes and wielded his mic like a baseball bat, in position and ready to strike. "Rock 'n' Roller!" He shouted confidently before swiging his mic across Gaogamon's snout.

Gaogamon was sent across the field a couple a meters away, his body crashed to the ground ungracefully but got back to his feet quickly. In the mean time, Shoutmon was already preparing for his next attack. Sprinting towards his opponent, Shoutmon was building up the attack deep within his chest, feeling the rush of his blazing emotions. "Soul Crusher!"

Using the mic to unleash the powerful and blazing attack, the fiery energy engulfed Gaogamon to flames before he was deleted.

"You okay back there?" Asked Shoutmon with a strained smile to the Ignitemon, who simply responded with multiple nods.

After taking out two more imperials, who pulverized in to data clouds, Dorulumon aimed his tail drill at the last remaining imperial officer.

"Surrender and we'll end this senseless bloodshed now! Your troops are tired and outnumbered!"

The Piedmon simply laughed before responding.

"As if I'll surrender to a mindless mutt like you! I'll rather kill you now, dog!"

"How about you surrender to Devil Dogs?" Sarcastically asked Raymond.

Aiming his sidearm at Piedmon, he was then followed by several Marines and Paratroopers, who all aimed their weapons at him. Renamon then appeared next to Raymond and aimed her sniper rifle to the head.

"Tch! Fine... I surrender." Piedmon finally said with reluctance, he dropped his swords on the ground and lifted his arms out.

Moments later, the fighting died down and was finally over. Marines and Paratroopers cheered as transport helicopters and air support arrived. Now reinforced with the rest of the Digital Marines and Paratrooper 2nd Battalion, the humans gathered the prisoners and the wounded.

Though marked as a victory, it was also marked as the bloodiest battle since the human intervention so far. With a casualty report of 5,000 dead and 2,000 wounded, the battle for the Forest Zone crippled the IDDF and the Imperium who suffered twice as much of casualties.

But with the final liberation of the Forest Zone, the South Continent was finally free from Imperial control and the IDDF can now receive more soldiers and proceed in the liberation of the central regions.

The Royal Knights and their Strike force arrived at the battlefield hours later after going through the same situation with the imperials on their side. They were sent as a relief force and to help maintaining order in the zone while the IDDF regain its forces.

Upon arriving in Rhosyn Gaden Castle's courtyard, the Royal Knights were shocked at the condition of the castle and of the humans. The humans were in horrible shape, covered from head to toe in mud, grime and blood. Alphamon quickly gave orders to the Strike force to aid the humans at evacuating the wounded and the prisoners while the Royal Knights will aid them with any medical care.

Wandering around the courtyard, seemingly staring at the humans with sympathy and sadness, Dukemon, Magnamon and Dynasmon were looking for a particular human but were having a hard time due to the mess the humans were covered in. Then Magnamon spotted a human discussing with a Guilmon and another human. Recognizing the human's scarf wrapped around his neck and his messy short black hair, the knight of Miracles ran up to him.

"Raymond, is that you?" He asked with a bit of uncertainty.

Raymond turned around and beamed him a tired smile. "Hey there, Magna, didn't notice you guys were here."

Magnamon gave Raymond a quick hug, which caught Guilmon, Dukeman and the other Royal Knights off guard.

"By Yggdrasil, you look awful." Commented Magnamon with worry.

"Nah, it is but a scratch." He said jokingly.

While the others were conversing, Dukemon and Guilmon stared at each other with curiosity. Inspecting one another like a mirror, they exchanged a few words before they started pondering to make sense of this awkward situation.

"Brother?" Guilmon asked.

Dukemon nodded ecstatically and they did a high-five happily.

"You okay there, Dukemon?" Asked Dynasmon confusely.

"Yeah! I have a brother now!"

Dynasmon looked at his friend dumbfounded and chuckled awkwardly.

"Haha...okay. I'm gonna leave you two to catch up." He said as he backed away slowly.

Night finally arrived, the officers of the IDDF and the Royal Knights gathered in the briefing room in Shoutmon's residence.

"The casualty report so far has been 78 KIA and 38 wounded along with 20 KIA and 11 wounded from the Marines." Major Ramsey reported grimly. "They...uh... they hit us really badly out there."

Colonel Eversman let out a tired sigh. "They took us all by surprise. Ironic that we claim to expect such event."

"And how's the situation back at your front?" Inquired Colonel Hazama.

"We've managed to push through the enemy blockade to the Mesozoic Kingdom but we've suffered quite a lot of casualties in doing so." Captain OuRyuumon answered before Alphamon could.

"Well at least on the bright side the Germans and the French could now easily push through the west." Stated Eversman.

"Now that we've got the South continent liberated." Started Raymond. "What are our next orders?"

"For now, we should halt the offensive until the end of this year so we could re-organize our troops and supplies. Expect entire divisions rolling in here for Christmas." Richards replied with a bit of sarcasm in the end.

"Speaking of re-organizing..." Announced Eversman. "I'm giving a promotion to both of you." He metionned to Raymond and Richards, who had surprised looks on their faces.

"A promotion, sir?" Asked Richards in disbelief. "It's kinda too soon for us to get one." He pointed out.

"I know but with our numbers quickly diminishing, platoons are left without any real leaders and certain companies are getting shorter. We have received 5000 new recruits that will fill in those empty companies. And so, Richards, I'm promoting you to Lieutenant-Colonel, making you in charge of the 1st Battalion."

Raymond gave a light pat of congratulation to Richards who was still in disbelief.

"But who will be taking commands of Echo company?" He asked.

"This Echo company no longer exists. It is now Alpha company and Captain Raymond here will take command."

"Sir!" Raymond stood straightly and saluted to the Colonel sharply.

"Alpha company is consisting of Echo company and of our Recon company. That means Alpha will be at forefront of our assault force." Eversman informed.

"And why Raymond is going to be leading the assault?" Asked out of curiosity Duftmon.

"His knowledge on Digimon and the fact that he basically commands the Recon company are a few reasons. He is also the best man we have in the whole battalion, admired and respected by many." He explained.

"Really?" Raymond was surprised to hear that.

"Oh yeah. Even the Resistance talk about you, in particular that BlackRenamon you've met a few months ago. Stories about you spread around the villages around FOB Ginza."

Raymond blushed a little in embarrassement and coughed to hide his blush.

"So how many companies are there now?" Asked Richards.

"For now, 3. Bravo company will be commanded by Captain Middendorf from 2/5 Marines, a highly respected man and a smart one. Then there is Charlie company, commanded by Captain Desmond."

Both Raymond and Richards nodded in acknowledgement.

"Now with that said, we should plan for our next assault." Started Hazama as he points at the map on the briefing table. "The JGSDF 2nd Infantry Division and the Digital Marines will take the left flank through the Metal Empire-"

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Interrupted UlforceVeedramon with concern.

"What do you mean by that?" Eversman asked.

"What he meant is that the Metal Empire can't be trusted." Alphamon started to explain. "Five years ago, the Metal Empire was plunged in a civil war during our war against the Imperium. The civil war was fought between the new Republic party under JumboGamemon and the totalitarian rule under Chaosdramon, who also commanded the D-Brigade. Chaosdramon won and the Republic is currently being hunt down. The Metal Empire now became a secluded but advanced and prosperous empire ruled with an iron fist. Before the civil war, they were our best ally but with the new change of supreme leader, the Metal Empire state to be neutral in the war. However recently our scouts and spies spotted the Metal empire exchanging military technology with the Imperium and are getting close."

"Look Alphamon, I know going into a territory that you don't like is problematic but we don't have the time or power to deal with these internal political problems. We need as much help as we can get and if we have to make a deal with them, we will." Hazama told him sincerely.

"That's kind of hypocritical to say that, don't you think Colonel." Said Raymond with concern. "I mean it's like if we allied ourselves with North Korea."

"I know what you mean but we do not know this world well enough to make these types of decisions. We'll just have to suck it up and hope for the best." Eversman told him with a bit of regret in his voice.

"And what about us?" Shoutmon asked, feeling left behind in the conversation.

"You can provide us artillery support and can send detachments to assist us at holding the main front." Duftmon told him.

"I'll see what we can send." Shoutmon then called for Knightmon to prepare a detachment.

Then everyone turned their heads towards the balcony when they heard some singing from the outside. A group of British paratroopers were singing " _I'm dreaming of home_ " around a small camp fire near the vehicles. Their voices were accompanied by two bagpipes. The deep voices of the soldiers were filled with solemn but also with a small glimpse of hope, hope of going back home in one piece.

"What are they singing?" Asked Magnamon with curiosity.

" _I'm dreaming of home_ , a song sung by the soldiers back in World War I." Answered Ramsey before silently singing.

"It sounds beautiful... but at the same time sad." Dukeman noted loudly, charmed by the song.

Royal Knights and other digimon stared at the group in awe and sympathy.

"Why are they singing at this time of the year?" Asked a curious Knightmon .

"Christmas is coming." Raymond answered casually.

Once the song was over, the soldiers cheered and applauded loudly before going back to their work in silence.


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19:

The Christmas Kiss

 _December 24th 2017, Camp Iarica._

Raymond has invited some of his friends to celebrate Christmas in the barrack's break room, three hours before the official Christmas party at the base's mess hall. The barrack was decorated with all sorts of garlands and LED lights hanging around the break room. A small decorative Christmas tree was placed on the dining table, surrounded with cakes, cookies and soft drinks.

The room was filled with joyous laughter and happy chatting. Guilmon, Dukeman and Stephen were the only ones wearing a Christmas hat. The three were having a friendly converation on the dining table. Guilmon was telling them one of Renamon's most embarrassing moments, which amazed the two humans.

"After that, she came out looking like a bipedal living mop." Guilmon chuckled, remembering that moment like it was yesterday. "We had to dry her up quickly, of course Terriermon had the bright idea to use hair dryers and well, in a minute her fur just * **poof*** , instant fluffy furball."

The others laughed, picturing Renamon as a huge yellow furball, if only someone had took a picture of that moment. Stephen then received a text on his personal cellphone. He responded the text and excuses himself to everybody before leaving the barrack.

"Got any idea where he's off to, Gunney Dukeman?" Asked Renamon as she approaches Louis and Guilmon.

"Please don't call me that here, it makes me feel old." Louis joked. "But to answer your question, I have no idea where he's gone to."

Renamon shrugged then gave a light kiss on Guilmon's cheek before giving him a cold stare. "Tell more embarrassing stories of me and I'll find creative and horrible ways to torture you." Guilmon paled at this sudden change. "Is that clear, Corporal Guilmon Matsuki?" He gulped and nodded frantically. "Thanks sweety!". She gave another kiss and went off to talk with Flamedramon and Gary.

Guilmon let out his breath that he has been holding this past minute before Louis spoke up.

"I'm amazed you didn't faint from pure fear, Guilmon."

"I'm more amazed that I didn't shit myself on the spot..."

Raymond went up the stairs of the HQ's officers' quarters and headed to Richards's sleeping quarters. He knocked the door twice before given the permission to go in.

Richards sat behind his desk, one corner of the desk was full of paper work while he was reading each and every one of them, one-by-one. Richards looked up at Stephen with tired eyes and metionned him to stand in front of him.

"Still have a lot of paperwork?" Asked curiously Stephen, feeling a bit bad for his C.O.

"It's the price to pay for getting a promotion this soon in the career." Richards said with a lazy grin. "I've got your 'special package'. It's the duffle bag beside my bed." He pointed out.

Stephen smiled and thanked his friend. He went to his bed and inspected the content inside the huge duffle bag.

"How come I'm not invited to your party, Steph?" Richards complained.

"I did invited you, but you were like 'I wish but I've got a lot of paperwork to do tomorrow.'" He said while doing a poor imitation of his friend. "But you can simply stop the work and come with us." Proposed Stephen as he heaves the bag full of letters and mail boxes sent from the Human World. "There's some cookies and hot chocolate~" He added to persuade the Battalion commander.

"Fine... I'll come with you." Richards decided, giving in to Stephen's suggestion.

Stephen cheered and they both went outside.

Guilmon and Renamon were sitting on the barrack's two-steps stairs of the front porch, holding hands and looking up at the clear night sky. Renamon rested her head on Guilmon's shoulder while playing occasionally with his Santa Claus hat, while he rested his head on top of her's.

"Renamon?"

Renamon hummed in response, signaling him that she was listening.

"What should we do after all of this?" Guilmon wondered out loud.

"Can you elaborate your question, please?" Asked Renamon who was initially confused at his question.

"What I meant was... what should we do with our lives once we've done our service. Like where should we live, or do we have to get jobs or something like that."

"Ah..." Renamon thought for a probable scenario for a minute before replying. "I would like to go back to the Real World, at least it's more peaceful than here."

"I guess that would be great... But what about us?"

"What do you mean? I'm still going to spend time with you once we're done here. We can explore the city together in broad daylight now since the humans know of our presences."

Guilmon nodded and contemplated on what Renamon just said. They gazed at the sky in silence, letting the gentle breeze gracing their figure.

"Do you like kids?" Guilmon asked out of the blue.

Renamon bursted into laughter and stared at her boyfriend with amusement. "Where the hell did that came from?"

Guilmon blushed sheepishly and stared back at his girlfriend with a hesitant smile. "Well... I was thinking that maybe... we could... you know... have a family one day." He stuttered nervously.

Renamon's eyes widened with surprise and looked at the ground, pondering. Noticing the sudden discomfort, Guilmon hung his head in shame.

"Sorry... You don't have to answer. I know it's a random and stupid idea."

"Oh no! It's just that... you caught me off guard. Guess I didn't thought much of our relationship going further but-"

Sadly for Guilmon, Renamon got interrupted once Stephen came back with a cumbering duffle bag and their Battalion commander. The two digimon stood up and saluted Richards.

"At ease. I'm just here to have some fun, so drop the formalities. It's Christmas after all." Richards said with a comforting smile and the four of them went in the barrack's break room.

After welcoming Richards with a roaring cheer and a hot chocolate, everyone gathered around Stephen with impatience and curiosity.

"Ladies and gentlemen, for these past weeks, I've been hoarding and keeping some of your mails because I've personally requested your families to send Christmas presents months before for this very special occasion." He announced proudly. "And because I wanted to be Santa Claus for once." He added with a chuckle.

Stephen rummaged through the duffle and took a stack of comic books along some letters for Flamedramon.

"From your family with love." He handed the presents to Flamedramon who gently took it and stared at them like sacred objects.

"I think I'm gonna cry soon." He said before hugging Stephen. "Thank you!"

Stephen continued to hand off the mails and presents before it was finally Renamon's and Guilmon's turn.

"As for the two of you: I have for the beautiful lady a box full of the greatest chocolate brands you could ever wish for." He announced as he handed to her a box full various chocolates.

Renamon stared at the box with glee and looked like she was going to devour them in seconds. Stephen then handed her letters and a family picture of the Nonakas. "Rika wants you to have it as a morale boost."

Stephen then faced Guilmon who was waiting for his turn impatiently. "The Matsukis had been quite generous to you and sent probably half of the bakery to you."

Guilmon squealed and was about to jump and get the duffle bag, however Stephen stopped him just in time.

"But before I give you the presents, safety first buddy." He said as he pulled a box of condoms.

Guilmon immediately blushed madly and tried to hide it from everyone and especially Renamon's eyes. Stephen backed away and pushed Guilmon away with a mischevious smile, knowing this moment would come.

"Hey, Renamon! Come here." Stephen called out.

"NO!" Guilmon protested childishly.

Renamon turned back and looked at her commanding officer confusely. He showed her the box of condoms and he ordered the couple to listen to him. Renamon's face was as red as Guilmon's scales, maybe redder.

"Now that you have these, I want you to use them whenever you two want some 'fun' at the base. Always use protection, am I clear?" He demanded.

The two embarrassed digimon nodded reluctantly and Stephen then threw it at Guilmon who barely caught it.

"Does he know that Digimon don't mate?" Whispered Guilmon, to which Renamon shrugged in response.

"I hope this is just a joke." She added irritatedly.

The party continued for another hour before Richards announced everybody to go to the mess hall for the official Christmas party.

At the mess hall, the canteen was filled with Christmas songs and laughter of the Marines and the JSDF soldiers of the base. The rookies were warmly welcomed by the more experienced soldiers and enjoyed their time with them, playing games and talking happily.

Thanks to Colonel Hazama, the soldiers were lucky enough to get loads of KFC buckets and pizza boxes. The delicious and addictive foods were being passed around from table to table as the men and digimon enjoyed their meals to the last.

Various soft drinks were being distributed by the mess hall staffs. The joyous atmosphere was a complete contrast of the harsh and brutal reality these soldiers had and will go through tomorrow. But for now, for Stephen and many others, they could finally forget these events for a day and enjoy their small vacation.

At past midnight, Eversman finally joined in and suggested every company to take a group picture. The Marines and Digimon of the newly created Alpha company gathered close to each other so they could fit in the camera's frame. At the front of the company was 1st platoon with Renamon and Guilmon holding a sign with 'Alpha company' written on it.

An administration staff took several pictures before announcing to Alpha to act dumb for the final picture. While the others prepared to make silly faces or poses, Renamon whispered to Guilmon in a seductive tone.

"I've been thinking about what you've said earlier and... my answer is yes, I'll love to."

Guilmon beamed a huge smile and looked back at Renamon to see if this wasn't a dream. As the staff member counted down, Guilmon prepared himself to make a move, one that will stay in the Battalion's memoirs.

"3, 2...1... say Devil Dogs!" Announced the Marine loudly.

"Devil Dogs!" Everyone shouted and that moment, Guilmon took Renamon by her arm, turned her so that her back rested on his arm and leaned in for the kiss while holding the sign up high proudly. The picture was taken at that precise moment. It depicts the Marines and the Digimon of Alpha company cheering proudly or staring at the couple with surprise while some were oblivious to the moment and kept their ridiculous faces or poses.

Indeed, that picture stayed in the Battalion's memoirs.

 _December 26th 2017, Camp Iarica._

"The first ones to go in will be the JSDF and Charlie company by land. Alpha and Bravo company will be going by air after the advance force has passed the Metal Empire's borders. Charlie company will act as a support detachment which means that the japanese are the ones ordering around." Explained Richards to the officers and NCOs in the base's hangar. "Are there any questions?"

Captain Ben Middendorf raised his hand. "Should we expect any enemy contact?"

"Good question. Intel say no because the Metal Empire is a neutral state in the war so there shouldn't be any enemy forces in there if their rules are the same as ours. That said, Royal Knights warned us that the Metal Empire isn't really a state that we should trust and they recommend we should keep our awareness at a high level. Any other question?"

Richards waited for a minute and proceeded with the briefing. "Our main objectives are to secure the town of La Rose-Blanche, then until the Army's paratroopers drop in LZ Hotel, we will hold our grounds at Hill 45. In the AO, we might encounter hostiles but also some friendly forces notably from the Republic of Node. On another note, the UDC's army is back on duty and will assist our main force until we reach the Royal Knights' control zone. With that said and no further questions, have a nice day and we'll meet again two hours before the OP. Oorah?"

"Oorah!" The Marines responded before going on their separate ways.

 _January 4th 2018, 3 klicks in the South of the Metal Empire._

The landscape was a complete contradiction of "Metal". Covered and filled with various mountains and hills, the landscape had different shades of green that span across kilometers in the Metal Empire. Lush green and dense forests dotted the area with fields of colorful flowers. Due to its close proximity with the Forest Zone, there is no doubt that the (Digital) Mother Nature did her job across the DigiWorld.

The 4th Infantry Regiment 5th Brigade of the JGSDF rode on the wide dirt road, surrounded by the expansive green scenery and highlands. The JSDF convoy span a kilometer long. Trails of sand and dust left off by the passing vehicles created a large and wide brown-ish smoke that covered the vehicles.

Resting his left arm lazily outside of the vehicle's open window, Itami was playing a game on his phone to pass the time. He would occasionally glance ahead of him if there was something going on.

Next to him, on the driver's seat was Kurata, who had a very bored expression on his face. He was about the turned on the radio, only to stop and remember that there were no satellites up in the Digital World. He let out an irritated sigh and kept his eyes on the road.

Behind his seat was Kuribayashi, drawing various small sketches on her notepad given by Raymond on New Year's Eve as a present. She was concentrating a lot on her drawings, sometimes her pencil slipped and traced a small line on her helmet that she used as a solid support for drawing.

And to her left was Tomita, who was sleeping soundly during the whole trip. His head was glued to the window and his Type 64 battle rifle hung losely between his legs.

Several military jargons were being heard in the radio but none of the messages were really important. Most of the messages were check-up reports from the units in the convoy and traffic controls from the JASDF.

"Man, for an important operation, this sure is boring." Began Kurata with a blank stare.

"Would you prefer to get shot perhaps?" Itami asked sarcastically.

"I would. It's been forever since I fired my gun." Added Kuribayshi frustrated with the recent result of her sketch.

"You fired your gun at the range 24 hours ago." Tomita reminded her while still sleeping.

"I prefer to shoot at my enemies and not at some target dummies." Sneered the woman.

"You'll get your action soon, Shino, you'll get it soon." Itami stated.

"Dude, don't jinx us yet." Kurata warned with a bit of worry.

"Kurata, we're not in some action movie where saying 'I have a bad feeling about this' will get us shot."

With twisted fate and irony, thundering explosions was heard behind the hills to the left side of the convoy, followed by two dozen streaks of smoke that rose up to the sky before descending onto the JSDF.

" _INCOMING!"_ Shouted a soldier through the radio.

" _SCATTER! FAN OUT!"_ Ordered Colonel Hazama.

"See!? I told you so!" Yelled Kurata as he violently steered the vehicle out of the dirt road and into the grassfield.

"SHUT UP!" Itami shot back.

The artillery shells hit near the convoy, sending waves of dirt and metal sharpnel at them.

" _Everyone! Move out! Keep moving forward!"_

The scattered vehicles did their best to drive around and link up with the rest of the convoy. The tanks started to fire at the direction of the hill, hopefully suppressing the unknown enemy.

Another row of shells pounded the area, this time hitting a couple of vehicles. The army truck in front of their vehicle blew in a blazing fire, engulfing and consuming the soldiers in it.

Suddenly, streaks of bullets appeared from the montains and forests from both sides. The convoy now halted and pinned, the foot soldiers got out of the vehicles and fired back.

Shooting out of the vehicle's windows, all four of them kept on firing at faint appearances of muzzle flashes.

"Ah shit! We're sitting ducks here!" Shouted Kurata with panic in his voice as he quickly reloaded his rifle.

The JGSDF soldiers laid on the grass in their firing positions and returned fire. The enemy projectiles whizzing above their heads forced them to keep their heads low.

In the Type 73 light truck, the members of 3rd Recon team did their best to return fire while in the safety of their vehicle. However it seems that the enemy knew where to fire as more bullets hit the vehicles. Katsumoto laid a stream of tracer rounds out of his M249 mounted on top of the vehicle.

Behind the light truck was the Komatsu LAV. Its heavy machine gun spit out .50 caliber rounds at the forest to their right.

Just as Katsumoto was about to reload his weapon, a round pierced his body armour and went through him. He fell down from the mounted gun and landed heavily in the light truck, clutching his wound and grunted in pain.

"Katsumoto is hit!" Kurokawa shouted and immediately went to him to stop the bleeding.

Sergenat Major Kuwahara looked back and informed Itami through the radio. Hostile shells started to rain from above and the JSDF took heavy casualties. Human body parts flew into the air as the bombardment intensefies.

A shell landed near their vehicle and a sharpnel grazed Kurata's cheek. The young sergeant swore and fell back on his seat, holding his cheek instictively while blood seeped out of his fingers.

"Kurata! Let me see the wound!" Itami demanded urgently as he tries to get ahold of him.

He finally separated his hand from the wound and inspected it. A gash was cut along his cheek but luckily for Kurata it wasn't deep enough the cause serious bleeding.

"It's just a cut! You're fine!" Itami pushed him to get back to the firefight. "Colonel Hazama! What are your orders? We're sitting ducks here!" He begged before ducking his head as a bullet just hit above his window.

" _We have to keep moving... air support will be here in 6 mikes. The Marines are coming to assist at the same time."_ Hazama informed through a raspy and pained voice.

"Sir... are you alright?" Itami asked with concern. Hazama chuckled and then coughed in response.

" _I'll be fine kiddo. Now keep moving! You're Recon for a reason."_

"Shit! Kurata! Let's move out now!"

"Where to, sir?!"

"Out of this place!"

Kurata quickly took control of the steering wheel and drove off as the lead vehicle of the convoy. The soldiers started to move out of the field and back into the vehicles before following Itami's vehicle.

Inside one of the type 82 command and communication vehicle was Colonel Hazama, clutching a wound on his lower waist. The colonel had a radio in hand, trying his best to keep himself conscious.

The armoured vehicle's back door was open, the sound of gunfire and the cries of his men kept him awake. He looked around the vehicle. The Type 82 got hit by a missile a few minutes ago, the warhead impacted at the front of the vehicle, killing the two front passenger. Coming back to him was 1st Lieutenant Akira Yanagida. The man was already covered in dirt and blood due to painfully extracting the wounded out of the fray.

"Sir, we need to get the hell out of here." He told the Colonel in panic.

"I know. I had Charlie and Delta company already moving out."

"What about us?!"

" _You_ will take Echo company and the rest of Alpha and pull back to the Marines." Hazama ordered him.

"What about Delta and Charlie? You just cut the regiment in two!" Yanagida said with frustration and confusion.

"Just do what I say and get these men out of here. Evacuate the wounded and the dead quickly."

Yanagida silently gave a salute and gave out the order. Hazama coughed loudly,he roughly spat out a big gulp of blood. He took out his sidearm just in case an enemy appears in front of him.

Eventhough he gave the order to move out, the soldiers refused to abandon the dead and the Colonel, which Yanagida had hoped.

"Corporal! Radio now!" He demanded and the radio specialist handed him the comms. "Avenger 1-1, do you copy?" He asked to the incoming JASDF pilots.

" _Loud and clear."_

"I am requesting an airstrike at..." He looked down at his map. " Golf 5, grid 457 380, 200 meters behind the forest. Elevation is at approximately 100 meters, hostiles are foot mobiles and artillery units, probably three dozen in the AO. Friendlies are at 50 meters around the dirt road."

" _Roger that. We're inbound 4 mikes. We'll start with a bombing run then we'll come back for another run."_

"Lieutenant! The americans are coming!" Informed a JSDF private. "They're pushing the enemy out of our right flank!"

"Good. At least now we only have one front to worry about. Yamato! Tell Bravo and Charlie company to halt their advance and wait until reinforcements arrive." Yanagida ordered before he demanded for a medic to evacuate the Colonel.

" _Hold your positions until help arrives."_

"No shit! We only moved two klicks ahead!" Snarled Itami as he took cover behind a rock formation.

With the cover of their tanks, Itami's company commander wants to push further in the forest to take out an enemy machine gun nest. The platoon slowly went up the forest's steep slope. Trees and rocks were taken as cover as they keep pushing upward.

"Itami! Do we even know who we're fighting against?" Asked Kuribayashi irritated at shooting at trees blindly.

"No idea!" He answered before calling Tomita. "Throw a frag right behind that small dirt hill!"

Tomita nodded and took a M67 frag grenade. He took out the pin and threw it above the dirt hill. After the grenade exploded, followed by two cries of pain, Itami ran up to the small mound and fired all his magazine at point blank range to finish off the enemy. He dived to cover behind another tree.

"Hill cleared out!" He shouted, allowing the rest of the company to move up a little.

Back with Yanagida, the 1st Lieutenant was commanding the whole battalion, being followed by several officers and radio communicaters.

"Kushiro! I want you to get me all the air support we can get on that mountain!" He pointed out.

"Yes sir! Avenger 1-1, requesting immediate close air support. I need you to flush them out on: Hilltop Foxtrot, shift Golf. Coordinates Golf 4-5, grid 785 219."

As the soldier transmit the coordination, an attack jet flew pass them and opened fire a volley of 20mm rounds.

"Lieutenant Takahashi! I want you to carve out an LZ right over there for our evac and the americans! Blow the trees down."

The 2nd Lieutenant saluted and called his platoon with him. The men applied explosives on thin trees located to the right side of the convoy. After a minute of preparation, Takahashi gave the order and detonated the explosives, cutting and carving out tall grass and trees in the small area.

"Inform the Marines of the new LZ." Yanagida ordered.

Examinating the battlefield around him, Yanagida was micro-managing the units to create a defensive perimeter. He fired a couple of shots at the visible muzzle flashes. He reloaded his rifle then let his breath out, the adrenaline was rushing into him, it was something he rarely experienced as he mostly spends the time behind a desk. But now he must concentrate to get his fellow brothers-in-arms out of here with minimal casualties and hopefully come up with a plan to defeat this still unknown enemy.


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20:

Prelude to another war

The roars of the helicopters filled the bustling camp as the Marines of 1st Battalion scrambled themselves to get ready for combat. Squads were sent to their designated choppers. Every Marine, once on board the transport helicopters, inspected their weapons and gears, and whispered a little prayer. The status of the battle was already deemed as a massacre for the JGSDF and the Marines of Charlie company had taken some losses.

Once set and prepared, the helicopters flew off to battle. Dozens of helicopters dotted the sky, along with a handful of attack helicopters and attack jets that flew pass them. What supposed to be a quick take-and-hold mission now turned in to a fullscale battle against an enemy still not recognised.

Unbeknownst to the men and women who will go to battle, this particular battle will spark another war few years later after this one. A war between two powerful nations, a war where two grand armies collide in a stalemate. The outcome of this battle will start an internal hatred between these two armies and between two worlds. Political rivalries will escalate once the war against the Imperium is over.

January 4th 2018, before that day the soldiers of the IDDF and those of the Metal Empire never met each other in a major battle.

Flying high above the highlands of the Metal Empire, the waves helicopters has caught the eyes of curious Digimon famers and workers below, looking up at them with awe and wonder.

As the helicopters approached the battlefield, the Marines could easily spot the enemy positions in the mountains and in the forests. Lowering to the newly established landing zone, Richards and a squad of Marines were the first ones in before being followed by the dozens more as more Marines poured in.

Walking down the dirt path and onto the grass field, Yanagida saluted the american officer and told him the situation of the battle.

"We've got two whole companies that had pushed further up and at 0835 hours, Delta company announced that they were pushing up further into the mountains towards what we assume were their artillery batteries. Since then, I haven't got any more reports from them."

"Alright, have your men stay here and hold the line. Bravo company will assist. We mustn't let the enemy surround us, got it?" Explained Richards.

Yanagida nodded and saluted again. Richards called a radio specialist and Raymond. "Tell Charlie company to hold that creek bed no matter what! We need to cut off their flanking routes before we can muster a counter-attack." He then turned to Raymond. "Take your company and help out the two companies up ahead the road."

"Yes sir!" Raymond saluted before calling up Alpha company.

The Viper attack helicopters fired missiles and machine gun rounds at the forest and mountains. The environment was being pounded and peppered by the coalition force's sheer volume of fire, dozens of enemy units were being destroyed and hundreds more wounded.

Linking up with 4th IR's Charlie company, the Marines of Alpha company took up positions behind rock formations and craters, creating a firing perimeter. Surrounded by tall grass and small trees with heavily dense bushes, the men had a hard time to locate and see the enemy.

A small area was dedicated for mortar teams and another was dedicated for the wounded as the medics did their best to treat the wounds under heavy fire and pratically under no cover.

Joining with a wounded Captain Izuka, Raymond was asking about the current situation so far.

"Where the hell is Delta company?"

"They are up those hills. We're trying to get comms running with them but the thick foliage is blocking our signals." Replied Izuka while he tries to get some order among his men.

"Alright. Lieutenant Colbert! Take your Recon Marines and find me Delta company. Dukeman, I want machine gun teams dugged in along the perimeter."

As the americans arrived into the battlefield, meanwhile with Delta company, they were taking heavy casualties when they walked into a clearing with not a lot of cover other than tall grass and a huge, dead tree trunk. They set foot in the enemy's ambush.

Itami slowly crawled between Kurata and Nishinda who were surveying their surroundings for any signs of enemy movement.

"How's the Captain, sir" Asked Nishinda quietly.

"Fucked up but still breathing. I think." Itami replied.

"Seriously, what has gotten into his head to keep charging the enemy?" Kurata growled.

"Shut up, Takeo, and keep your eyes open." Itami said after hitting him behind his head.

"You think the rest will-"

Nishinda placed his palm on Kurata's mouth to silence him and listened carefully at the environment. The three of them slowly raised their weapons as they heard slow foot steps coming closely towards them. Itami signaled Nishinda to throw a frag out in the open to scare the enemy out.

Right after the grenade exploded, the JSDF soldiers were met by a group of charging Commandramon and Sealsdramon who got up from the tall grass. They immediately returned fire, bullets were being exchanged to both sides.

Digimon dropped dead right in front of them as they continued to spit out lead from their rifles. Itami quickly switched one target to another, firing three rounds at a time.

"Conserve your ammo! Three rounds to the chest!" Shouted Kuwahara.

A bullet struck Nishinda at his left arm. He shouted a profanity and laid on his back as the pain surged through his whole body. Then he spotted a grenade landing right next to him. Without thinking, he threw himself on top of the hand grenade.

"GRENADE!" He yelled and Itami and Kurata covered their heads.

The fragmentation grenade erupted and chewed through his body armour and torso. Though he saved his friends, Nishinda dies two days after his second child came to life.

Watching his friend die right before his eyes, Kurata screamed in horror and grief, Nishinda had a family to live for and he threw all away in order to save his teammates. Itami shook Kurata once he started to cry uncontrollably in the middle of the firefight.

"Takeo! Takeo!" The soldier finally came to his senses and sniffed an apology. "This is Recon 3-Actual to all units, Man down. I repeat man down. Nishinda is KIA." Itami annonced grimly to the rest of his team.

At the LZ, Richards and Yanagida were coordinating their units accordingly. The medics tended to the wounded right next to them and the mortar teams. Radio communicators were exchanging orders with the pilots as the airstrikes intensefies by volume of fire.

More helicopters arrived at the LZ as the need for medevacs and reinforcements increases. The coalition started to pull back so that they wouldn't be killed by the incoming air support.

Smoke grenades of different colors were popping out to mark their positions.

A UH-1 Venom loaded with ammo boxes and Marines was receiving heavy enemy fire until one round struck the tail rotor. The helicopter spun out of control a few feet above the ground. The passengers had throw the ammo and themselves out of it. Black smoke started to pick up on the helicopter's tail. Another round struck the co-pilot in the head. The main pilot tried his best to land the air transport safely but instead it crashed violently as it received more incoming fire. The other pilot and two unfortunate Marines were killed in the crash.

" _This is Hawk 3-4. LZ is too hot. We're halting medevac for the moment until it is cleared."_

"Got it! We'll clear it out as soon as possible." Suggested Richards. "Get me Warpig and tell them to pushed up the creek bed with Charlie Company!" He ordered.

Screams and gun fire resumed once again when the enemy launched another charge at their position. Kurokawa quickly crawled up to another wounded soldier. The wounded was screaming in agony while his entire left side of the body was slowly being consumed by what looked like white phosphorus. The incendiary munition burned through his body armour and flesh painfully. Kurokawa quickly took off her kevlar helmet and searched through her medic bag for bandages and water.

"DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY FUCKING BANDAGES!?" She asked in complete frustration.

Another soldier got shot to the chest right next to her. Fortunately for her, another combat medic arrived and she orders him to take care of her patient while she tends on the other wounded. Kuribayashi ran behind Kurokawa to give some cover fire.

"Shino! Give me a hand over here!" Requested Mari.

"What?! Can't you-"

"GET OVER HERE NOW!" Snarled savagely the combat medic which made both the wounded soldier and Kuribayashi flinch.

While Mari applied a morphine shot, Shino plugged the wound with her hands to stop the bleeding. After the morphine shot, Mari ducked down to treat the wound, unintentionally avoiding a bullet that zipped just above her head. Once the bandages were applied, she picked up her assault rifle and fired a couple bursts at three Sealsdramon who tried to snuck behind them.

"Uh, Mari..." Kuribayashi stuttered. "You're kinda scaring me out now."

"Yeah, same here" Added the wounded private.

"I thought you wanted bloodshed..." Glared Mari at her friend then at the private. "And you keep your mouth shut or else I'll use you as a bullet sponge. Is that clear?"

The two soldiers nodded rapidly and in fright, not wanting to go further on her bad side.

" _Recon 3, this is Recon 1-1, we're in the forest, where are you?"_

Itami took the radio and replied with relief in his voice.

"Recon 1-1, this is Recon 3. Boy are we glad to hear you. We're currently taking a defensive position in what I assume is a knoll in the middle of a clearing."

" _Roger that, we're just a few meters East of your position. Hang tight help is on the way."_

"Listen up! Friendlies coming to our East! Give them some cover fire!" Shouted Itami to what was left of Delta company.

Raymond just received the new report from the Recon units and sighed with relief knowing that Itami and his teammates were still alive, for now.

"1st and 2nd platoon on me! We're making a push through the forest and link up with the Recon Marines. Guilmon, I want H.E rounds at 200 meters ahead the knoll, 3 rounds." He ordered.

The Marines of the metionned platoons got out from their dug foxholes and ran up the hill under the cover fire of the vehicles and 3rd platoon's machine gun squads. With the way already cleared up by the Recon units, the assault group moved forward, occasionally firing at enemy stranded units. Once joined up with the Recon units, the Marines took up firing positions from the higher grounds. They could see the small dirt mound, covered with wounded or killed soldiers.

"Imlay, Chandler. Pop smoke at the other side of the knoll on my mark. Colbert, you'll provide cover fire for the extraction team." Raymond ordered while he readies himself behind a tree.

"Who'll be the extraction team?" Asked Colbert unaware of the plan.

"Dukeman, pick five of your best men and follow me." He told to the Gunnery Sergeant.

"Ryan, Brook, Cyberdramon, Jackson and Miller." He picked sternly and then they prepared themselves to rush down to the clearing.

Raymond breathe in slowly and breathe out calmly. "Now!" He signalled.

The smoke grenades were launched at the same time as the extraction team rushed out of cover and down the slope to the clearing. The rest of the Marines started to fire and lit up the forest around the clearing, pinning the enemy down.

Once the extraction team arrived, they helped the medics at evacuating the wounded and carry the dead while those who weren't injured continued to fight back. The JSDF were able to evacuate the disabled and the dead in short time before the rest of them could retreat. In small groups, the japanese soldiers ran up back to the Marines and continued to the evac site.

The extraction team then slowly backed away while still providing some cover fire for the few that were still retreating. They procceeded the retreat with the 'talking guns' tactic, effectively suppressing the enemy troops.

With everyone finally out, Kuribayashi, who volunteered to stay behind for a bit used the opportunity to make a full sprint back to friendly lines. There was half a hundred meters to cross between her and the Marines. She quickly stood up and made a mad dash.

Nearing back to the hill, Raymond turned around and saw that Shino had almost joined up, until a bullet shot right through her lower waist. She gasped in surprise and lost control of her body, tripping on her feet and rolling back down at the base of the hill.

"Ah shit! She's hit!" Yelled Dukeman.

In a split second decision, Raymond ran back down to get her.

"I'll get her!" He shouted.

Dukeman stared at his superior in bewilderement and ordered the Marines to provide cover fire.

Clutching her wound and groaning, Kuribayashi tried to take off her body armour, which put a lot of weight on her and by the fact she was having a hard time to breath. Suddenly she felt someone taking the armour off of her and carried her bridal style. She could feel strong hands gripping her legs together and her back , she can also feel her face heat up when she realized that she instinctively wrapped her arms around the person she last expected to be save from but that she admires the most, the Marine Lieutenant Raymond.

Although he seems to be suffering a bit by carrying her and that he was covered in dirt and sweat, she couldn't help but stare into his eyes, the same eyes that burned with determination that she fell in love with. However her dreamy daze was cut short once the pain come back forcefully. She snarled and hung her head against Raymond's chest.

Raymond managed to carry her all the way back safely through all the spurratic fire. He gently laid her against a tree trunk where the medics can have a look at her wound.

"Can't believe I just made it through all that." Noted Raymond as Dukeman approached him.

"You do know that Renamon could've easily brought her here with her teleportation ability."

Raymond face-palmed once he remembered that fact. Dukeman then punched lightly Raymond's shoulder and added with a sly smile.

"Come on. Admit it that you did all that shit just to show off."

Raymond chuckled in response before he responded:

"Hold the ridge and get 3rd platoon over here."

"Yes sir!"

Six hours in the battle, the two armies are currently at a stalemate. Though the coalition force are able to regroup and push back the enemy force, they however still have one problem to take care off: the artillery.

Due to the sudden outburst and intensity of the battle, the IDDF took note that the 4th IR and 1st Battalion will not be able to assist the main assault force, thus had to improvise by taking out most of the air support from the 1st Battalion to speed up the operation. Of course, that only angered the Marines.

During the battle, two landing zones were being established. LZ Alpha for the Bravo and Charlie company and LZ Bravo for Alpha company.

Once the Creek bed has finally being re-secured, Richards ordered 1st and 2nd platoon to push up through the forest while 3rd platoon stayed behind and searched around the creek bed for any enemy scouts or booby traps. Lance Corporal Martin had his M16A4 rifle aimed lowly around as he walks around tall grass cautiously. Each step he took, he would stop and observe the ground around him for a couple of minutes before walking a few more steps forward and repeat the same process. Suddenly when approaching a bush, he saw that some of its leaves were starting to shake unnaturally. He slowly heads towards it, his rifle fully drawn and ready to shoot. He kicked through the bush and received a yelp in response.

"The fuck..."

He searched through the bush and was struggling to take out a small figure. He managed to throw the figure out of the hiding spot and pinned it down with his foot on top of it. He examined the figure and was surprised to catch an endangered animal in the Digital World of all places... or so he thought.

"H-hey! I found a panda!" He shouted to gain the nearby Marines' attention.

Five Marines came at him including Richards and Sergeant-Major Hendrick.

"That's no panda... it's a digimon, you idiot," Scolded the Sergeant-Major and pulled the Pandamon by its scarf. "Tell me one reason why I shouldn't kill you on the spot!" He threatened, which was effective at scaring the life out of the digimon.

"Please don't! I'm not a scout! I'm a deserter!" Pandamon claimed quickly.

"Leave him, Hendrick. Let's hear him out." Ordered Richards.

Hendrick dropped the digimon and Richards knelt down so that he could speak with the digimon face-to-face.

"Now if you're a deserter then you don't mind telling us everything we want to know, right?"

"S-sure, what-e-ever you want! I just want to live!"

"Good. First question: who are we facing against?"

Pandamon stared at the human blankly, thinking that this particular was dumb to him.

"The Metal Empire of course! Who else?!"

"I thought that they were neutral to the war."

"Chaosdramon claims to be neutral but the Metal Empire is secretly aiding the Imperium by providing weapons and troops. In fact, this battle is just a distraction to buy some time for the Imperium."

"Can you tell us where their camp and their artillery units are located?"

"Three klicks ahead at the other side of that mountain." Pandamon answered while pointing at the direction. " It is heavily defended and Chaosdramon and the Three Storm Commanders are there to observe us."

"Why would they want to observe us?" Asked Hendrick.

"Eversince you came in our world, Chaosdramon was tired of fending off rebellions and wanted a real challenge for the Metal Empire. Him, the Storm Commanders and most of the D-Brigade are all eager to fight you after your success at Iarica and Dramon Market. There's currently a whole division, 4 000 digimon, waiting to kill every human they see."

"And is Chaosdramon going to send some reinforcements?" Asked Richards.

"No. Our main objective is to hold this position until either the division or the humans are destroyed completely. This is but a fraction of the D-Brigade."

"How many are there in the D-Brigade?" Martin asked with a bit of worry in his voice.

"16 000 digimon, without the reserves."

While the Marines were starting to get worried, Richards ponders for a plan that could turn the tide for them.

"Hendrick, get me an extract helo quickly and get the prisonner to our base. Call the Royal Knights and tell them about this. Tell them to act fast if they want us out of here alive." Requested Richards before going back to the convoy.

Hendrick nodded and barked out the orders at the Marines around him. The Marines immediately got to their tasks.

"What are your next orders, sir?" Asked a Marine Forward Air Controller.

"Tell to all units to dig in and hold their grounds for the night. I have a feeling that the Metal Empire is going to send us everything they have for tonight."

The battle continued to the dead of night. The firefights seem to never loose their momentum. Tracer rounds and sparks of light were exchanged from both sides. The coalition force were slowly gaining the high grounds. Mortar teams deployed flares out to the dark skies to illuminate certain areas of the highlands.

Gun shots and artillery shellings could be heard throughout the forest where Alpha company has been holding on to for the past two hours. Foxholes were dug in and sandbags were distributed along the defensive line, with the help of the thick forages and trees, the Marines had little effort to defend their positions.

Raymond pulled down the NVG goggles to his eyes to see better in the darkness. He observed the surroundings of the clearing carefully until he received a message from the Lieutenant-Colonel.

" _Alpha-Actual, be advised, we have gathered info that the enemy might send a massive counter-attack. Expect lots of infantry and possible armour. How copy?"_

Just as he receives the info, he spotted several movement down at the clearing. Renamon warned everybody about the enemy presence and the Marines quickly took up arms and readied themselves for a fierce fight.

"Solid copy. We're about to meet an enemy counter-attack as we speak. Over." Replied Raymond before he inspected his rifle and aims down at the knoll.

" _Roger that. Bravo company is also about to receive the same treatment. Be careful and give 'em Hell!"_

"Alpha 4-1, I want flares at: Golf 6 to Golf 7 on all grids." He demanded and waited for the illumination flares to pop up.

Meanwhile, Colbert passed behind Renamon and tapped lightly on her shoulder. She looked back and he handed her a M16A4 assault rifle.

"Take this instead of your sniper rifle, things will get dirty quite soon." He explained to her.

"But, sir, I can handle just fine with this." She pointed out in protest.

"Trust me, it's better with a M16. Besides I know that you broke your first rifle back at Iarica for using it as a club."

Renamon reluctantly accepted the rifle and placed the bolt-action sniper rifle in the foxhole next to Roach. She inspected the AR before looking through the ACOG sight, her natural nightvision being better than a human's, she doesn't need a NVG goggle to help her. Her sights were already lined up to her target as she slowly follows it. As soon as the flares finally pop up in the sky, the clearing and its surroundings lit up brightly, revealing dozens of confused enemy foot mobiles in the open and only a few hundred meters away from their position. Renamon was the first one to open fire, the bullet pierced right through a Strikedramon's helmet with ease.

" _Thank you, Iceman."_ She thought to herself with a smirk now with the acknowledgement that were new rifle was equipped with armour piercing rounds.

The ridge lit up with small arms tracer rounds as soon as the flares were deployed. A handful of digimon were already killed at the first volley of fire. The D-Brigade troopers tried to find cover at the knoll or by simply going to ground and hoping for the best. In addition, more troopers started to rush out of the forest and through the clearing, thinking that by sheer numbers they could overrun the humans' position. Soon, several digimon packed with multiple guns, such as the dreaded Assaultmon, arrived and tried to win the firefight in terms of volume of fire.

"1-4! H.E rounds at anything above 200 meters of our positions, 5 rounds! Fire for effect!" Requested Raymond with Darrack's radio.

" _H.E, 200 meters and above from your position, 5 rounds, fire for effect."_ Repeated Guilmon.

A few seconds later, plumes of dirt and digimon flying upward dotted the area has multiple mortar shells dropped from the sky.

"Good effect on target! Keep it up!" Thanked Raymond. "Dukeman! I want grenade launchers to fire at anything that passes 100 meters to our position!"

Meanwhile with Richards and Bravo company were holding off a similar wave of enemy, however it seems that the artillery is focusing on them.

"Listen to me! That trench is vital, vital! Now they'll be coming right at you with a lot of troops. Do not let them take that position!" Ordered loudly Richards to Charlie company through the hell fire of battle.

Though deep in cover, Bravo company will not last longer unless the artillery has been destroyed or at the very least disabled.

"Someone get me Warhammer on the comms now!" He demanded before firing multiple shots at a Omekamon. "A cardboard Digimon? Really?! This is Pokemon level of laziness here."

With the order given, Captain Nathan Campbell led Charlie company along a group of tanks and LAVs, crossing the dirt path at the far right of Alpha company. Across them was a wide clear space with small woods on each side.

A couple of Type 10 main battle tanks drove at the front of the assault force, the infantry taking cover behind them. A few meters ahead was a natural trench along a series of craters that spread throughtout the clearway. The Marines quickly secured the area and established defensive position, the armoured vehicles stayed behind them to give them fire support.

Just as they arrived, they heard several metal threads coming towards them. They were soon met with the Metal Empire's forces, consisted mainly of infantry and a handful of armour Digimon and Aerial Digimon.

"CONTACT!" A sergeant yelled shortly before ducking their heads as a Tankmon opened fired.

The japanese tanks retaliated by firing in volleys their main guns while the machine gunners lit up the foot mobiles. Easily retaking the firefight, the Marines returned fire and were able to already deal heavy losses to their foes.

Three fronts were engaged in a fierce stalemate as the Metal Empire tries to retake their positions recently captured by the humans. The battle continued through the whole night, none of them were taking a few seconds to regroup.

The flashes of explosion and the sounds of gun fire could be heard all the way to the Metal Empire's forward base, where Chaosdramon and his three Storm Commanders watched the battle from his tent installed on top of a cliff. Raijinmon, Suijinmon and Fujinmon were all discussing about the humans' tactics behind their emperor, who was gazing at the battle before facing his commanders.

"Should we go and assist our reserves, my lord?" Asked Raijinmon with anticipation in his voice.

"No. We just need to hold them off for several days. Besides if we truly use our forces to full efficiency then these humans won't last an hour." Replied Chaosdramon.

"Yes, my lord. What is your next order?"

"We leave tomorrow morning. Burn every trace that we were here."

"But what about the division?" Asked Suijinmon concernly.

"I think Major General Vajramon can handle himself, unless if one of you want to stay behind only to supervise and see the outcome of this battle." Suggested Chaosdramon at his subordinates.

"I would like to stay behind, my lord." Proposed Fujinmon. "I want to see how the humans would adapt when they are cut off from their precious air supplies and mortars."

"Very well, Fujinmon. However make sure to leave at once and with haste if the humans reach our camp." Instructed the mechanical emperor.

"It is unlikely to happen but I shall do as you command."


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter 21:

Metal Frenzy

"Overlord, this is Hunter 3. Package has been delivered. Possibly 5 EKIA." Reported Yuki Inaho right after dropping a JDAM bomb at an enemy location informed by the British paratroopers. "I'm RTB for retasking and rearming. How copy?"

" _Solid copy Hunter 3. You have a new set of orders. U.S Marines of 1_ _st_ _Battalion are pinned down by artillery at the Metal Empire Highlands. We have a drone in the area for laser-guiding."_ Informed a JASDF air controller from Camp Ginza.

"Roger that. Rearming for precision strike mission. ETA 10 mikes, Hunter 3 out."

 _Metal Empire Highlands._

Captain Campbell dived in his foxhole as a storm of bullets missed him by a few inches. He grabbed his radio.

"Sir! We're taking heavy fire and we're spread too thin!" He radioed in to Richards.

" _I know. We're all are. I have requested air support. ETA 5 mikes. Just hang in there. We're counting on you to hold that trench."_

"Roger that, sir. We'll give them- AAH!"

At the end of line there was only static, Richards called Campbell multiple times but to no avail.

"Goddamnit! What is the situation with Alpha company?" He asked around.

"Sir! Look up!" Yelled a Marine corporal.

Looking up, they spotted a group of aerial digimon coming towards their LZ.

"Get those 50s up! They are trying to cut our air support!" Ordered Richards while firing at them.

They executed to the order. Small arms and .50 cal machine guns lit up the airborne digimon. Some of them were gunned down and hurled to the ground. Attacks were launched at the Marines and the nearby helicopters. A Black Hawk helicopter stabled itself in the air to allow both of its gunners to return fire. The powerful whirs of the M134 minigun easily chirped through the digimon's armour.

"Plasma Cannon!" A Mailbirdramon shouted as it shoots plasma shells from its mouth at the mortar teams.

The series of plasma shots erupted throughout the mortar teams and medical zone, engulfing Marines and JGSDF soldiers alike in flames. Men were screaming in agony and crying out for a medic. The heavily wounded were killed in the blasts. Several munitions of the mortars exploded, creating a mini chain of reaction, killing the crew in its fiery destruction. Mailbirdramon then veered off to LZ Bravo along with a handful of other airborne Digimon.

Quickly sensing the incoming danger, Guilmon warned his teammates and those close to them to defend themselves and evacuate the wounded. With haste, the soldiers prepared their weapons and pointed at the sky while others were relocating the wounded.

At first sight, Guilmon launched a series of his own attacks to disrupt the incoming force. Soon the men joined him and opened fire.

"AT lock and loaded!" Informed PFC. Edwards with an AT-4 rocket launcher on his shoulder.

"Shoot at the big blue bird!" Guilmon told him.

Edwards calmly aims down the sight and lined it up at the designated digimon. The Mailbirdramon was diving down while precisely avoiding the bullets with astounding agility. Just as the digimon is about to fire another plasma shell, Edward pushed the button on the launcher, the recoil kicked him a bit upwards. The warhead let off a thick trail of smoke as soon as it exited the launcher. It sped straight up towards its target until the digimon simply dodged to the left.

"Ah shit..." Edwards said before looking franctically for another launcher.

Another warhead streaked to the sky and hit the Dramon digimon to its side. Interrupted, Guilmon use the opportunity to fire another attack. He concentrates and powers up his next attack by using the Digital Hazard to maximize the damage.

"Pyro-Sphere!"

He shot a large red-hot fireball from his mouth. The attack envelopped the digimon in fire, slowly burning it in the inside. Edwards found another AT-4 and didn't waste time to fire at it. The warhead impacted on its head and blew it in half before dissolving in data particles.

"Thanks for the heads-up, Guilmon. You saved our asses back there." Flamedramon said before throwing a light punch at Guilmon.

"Did you know who fired that second shot?" Guilmon asked, wanting to thank the soldier who gave them a few more seconds to spare. "Without that shot we would've probably be fried."

"Yeah, thanks reminding us for that, Guilmon." A Marine said blankly with sarcasm.

"What? It's true you know!"

"We know that! Just give us a moment to celebrate that we survived this far."

Their small and playful bickering stopped once they heard a loud explosion at what they assumed was Charlie company's front line.

A Sealsdramon jumped in Renamon's foxhole and took out his combat knife to engage in CQC. They both took a fighting stance and waited for the other to engage first in this very small space.

"How about we negotiate over this peacefully like civilized digimon." She suggested sarcastically.

The commando-type digimon scoffed and lunged forward. She caught his arm with the blade in hand and elbowed him to the face, smashing his visors with the strong blow. Disoriented and breathless, Renamon launched a powerful kick to his chest that sent him back down the hill's slope.

"Roach! I need a mag now!" She demanded from her spotter, who threw at her a new AR15 magazine.

"It's my last mag, ma'am!" He informed her loudly as he puts in another magazine in his M4A1 rifle.

Crouching behind a thick fallen tree trunk, she fired her rifle in rapid successions in semi-automatic, each shots landed perfectly at their intended target. Her quick aiming and trigger finger led to her rifle running dry in a matter of seconds.

"Damn it!"

She looked around for her sniper rifle when suddenly a Commandramon jumped right in front of her and was about to strike her with his bayonet fixed at his rifle's barrel. Renamon swiftly dodged it and drew out her combat knife. She lunged it at his throat and pushed him aside. The Commandramon bled profusely as his throat was cut before turning into a data cloud.

Raymond was struggling with a Commandramon who tried to gut him alive. Raymond used all of his strenght to push back the blade from entering his armour and guts. The two of them were grunting as he blocked the digimon's other arm to use it as additional force. Raymond came up with a quick headbutt but the Commandramon's head dropped dead after a bullet pierced his helmet.

"That's the second time you owe me, Lieutenant." Renamon said with mocking smirk.

She then disappears before Raymond could respond back. He simply shook his head and went back to order his Marines around.

* * *

Only the screams of the suffering filled LZ Alpha as Yanagida tries to help them. He went to a man who had half of his body burnt to a crisp. The man was still alive.

"Medic! Medic!" Yanagida requested loudly as he knelt down next to the burnt JGSDF soldier.

A Navy Corpsman arrived and quickly applied a morphine to the wounded. Meanwhile Yanagida tried to calm the man down. A Black Hawk chopper flew above them and landed a few meters away.

"Take his legs! We're going to take him to that chopper!" The corpsman explained as he positioned himself above the wounded's shoulders.

Yanagida nodded and went to grabbed the legs. Once his hands made contact with the burnt fabric and pulled up, the combat pants' cloth teared up along with the soldier's flesh. As he screamed once again in pain, Yanagida stared at his gloved hands in horror. Pieces of darken and mossy skin and flesh covered his hands as he could feel the blood and warmth through the gloves. He looked down and gasped in disgust now that the feet's bones could be seen clearly. He tried his best to not pass out or throwing up, he was snapped out of his horrid stare by the corpsman who was yelling at him.

"You're going to have to carry him to that chopper! I'm needed elsewhere! Do you understand?"

Yanagida simply nodded and the corpsman ran to another wounded soldier. The japanese officer slowly breathe to come back to his senses and took off his helmet. He carefully pick the wounded man and carried him bridal style.

"Hang in there! You're going home!" He said to the burnt soldier as a morale support.

The Black Hawk was initially filled with ammunation crates and medical supplies but after unloading its packages, it is now filled with wounded soldiers. The pilot was about to fly off until his co-pilot stopped and pointed at him Yanagida. They stared at the wounded he was carrying with shock and horror. They patiently waited for him to drop him in the vehicle. Once done, they took off to the sky and back to base.

The lieutenant just stood still, having a hard time to catch his breath as the images repeated in his head. He dropped on his knees, he was at the edge of breaking up in the middle of the battlefield. After a few moments of internal conflicts in his mind, he stood back up with newfound resolve and decided to make a difference in the battlefield.

* * *

"Pull back! For fuck's sake! Pull back!" Ordered 2nd Lieutenant Fowler.

With the recent death of Captain Campbell, the Marines of Charlie company were in havoc as their position was being overrun. Their armoured support were starting to pull back as more and more anti-tank units were taking out one tank at a time.

Fowler tried to help a Marine radio operator to get on his feet only to find out that the private was dead. Fowler picked up the radio pack and ran behind a destroyed LAV-25.

"Overlord! This is Charlie 2-Actual! Our position has been overrun and the Captain is dead. I want air support to burn the entire area as follow: Hotel 6 to India 6 on all grids!" Demanded Fowler quickly as he could hear enemy soldiers slowly approaching his cover.

" _Charlie 2-Actual, we've received your coordinations but be aware that this is danger close, how copy?"_

"I know that!" He replied angrily. "Just blow the entire area up! We've got hundreds of hostile foot mobiles and armour! I want them dead now!"

" _Roger that. Air strike incoming in 2 mike."_

"Roger that. Bomb dropping in 30 seconds." Announced Lieutenant Inaho after received an update of the fire mission.

He looked through his digital map of area. Adjusting the aim for the JDAM bomb, he then flicked the switch to release the high explosive munition.

"Dropping now." He informed just as the JDAM was released from its compartement.

As the bomb dropped, it emits a high pitched whistle before impacting and erupting as it touches the ground. The trench and all of its surroundings was covered in a thick black cloud that reached up to 40 meters in the air. The sound of the ammunition exploding came in a few seconds later. At the center of the thick cloud of smoke was a bright orange glow that disappeared shortly after the detonation. Not a single Digimon or man survived the blast. Half of the flanking enemy force was gone in a second. Several Marines were either killed in the blast or by the immense shockwave that it released upon impact. The gigantic smoke cloud could be seen and to some felt throughout the battlefield.

At the Metal Empire's camp, several Digimon troopers looked at the cloud in shock, including Fujinmon who stared at it in disbelief that a relatively small aircraft could cause so much damage.

"Do we have any survivors in that blast?" He asked the division commander.

"We have a hard time getting communications up but it seems that no one survived." Vajramon.

"Send in some reinforcements to push through that trench." He ordered.

"Yes, Commander!" The bull digimon saluted and gave out the order.

From Alpha company's position, the smoke cloud slowly covered them, thus blinding the two forces. The Marines had initially ducked themselves behind cover as soon as the bomb was dropped. When the smoke started to clear out, they returned to their firing positions and waited for further orders as the enemy hadn't fired back yet.

"Are they dead, sir?" Asked Brook with a mix of confusion and hope.

"What kind of stupid question is that?" Raymond asked rhetorically.

"Hey, I was just hoping. Being optimistic and all." Replied Brook casually.

"Then you're a tad bit too optimistic, Corporal." Renamon pointed out beside him.

"What are your orders, sir?" Asked Dukeman.

"Tell the men to fire at anything suspicious on my go, fire 3 rounds first." He informed him before Dukeman tell to the other squad leaders.

Raymond aimed at a random spot at the knoll and fired three times. The Marines fired shortly after, combing the area with small arms fire. Moments later, the enemy responded by firing blindly at them. The sheer amount of projectiles whizzing at them was enough to suppress the company at the ridge.

"Return fire! Return fire!" Raymond shouted at the Marines. "Dukeman! Get me mortar fire at anything above 100 meters from our positions! Light the fuck out of the area!"

Meanwhile back with Yuki Inaho, the pilot had his aircraft circling around the battlefield at high altitude waiting for the drone.

"Overlord, this is Hunter 3. I fail to see your drone or any laser guidance." He reported neutrally.

" _Affirmative. Our drone got shot down on the way by the UDC defense force by accident. We'll see if 1st Battalion could get some coordinations for the air strike."_

"Roger that. Permission to assist them with close air support?" He asked.

He waited for a full minute until the air comms finally responded. " _Affirmative but be advised hostiles have anti-air weapons. Proceed with extreme caution. We are tasking you with 2_ _nd_ _Lieutenant Yanagida, callsign Alpha_ 1."

"Copy that. Hunter 3 inbound for close air support." He stated before lowering the aircraft for a run and gun manoeuver.

Yanagida and 2nd platoon had set a second defensive line for Charlie company of 1st Battalion. Dug out and sandbag layered foxholes was the welcome sight for the retreating Marines as the JSDF soldiers gave cover fire for them while also attempting to halt the enemy assault force from flanking Alpha company.

With a fresh mag in, Yanagida aimed down his red dot sight and fired in short bursts, each series of bullets connected their target. He then took a frag grenade and threw it as far as possible after pulling the pin. In a short amount of time, he had already killed several enemy soldiers. He was determined to avenge his fallen comrades and plans to get out of this mess alive.

"Lieutenant! JASDF air support on our line! Callsign: Hunter 3." Informed the forward air controller while passing the radio to him.

"This is Alpha 1, how copy?"

" _Alpha 1, this is Hunter 3. Overlord has attached me to your unit for close air support. Tell me where to shoot and I'll make sure that they are gone"_

"Right, thanks for the help. I want you to gun down at coordinates: Hotel 7, grid 345 679 and Hotel 8, grid 457 321!"

" _Copy that, inbound 10 seconds."_

The whir of the attack jet's 20mm JM61A1 cannon filled the sky. Infantry and armour Digimon were instantly killed by the powerful weapon, chewing up their armour like paper. Hunter 3 then flew upwards and turned around for a second run. Assaultmon try to attack the aircraft only to be annihilated in seconds. Marines and JSDF soldiers cheered loudly and throwing insults and taunts at the enemy.

"Get some, you digimon fucks!" Shouted a Marine.

The air support boosted their morale and prompted the JGSDF tanks to push forward along with the infantry. The Metal Empire troops scrambled to regroup as they desperately try to fight back. They then started to flee, now chased by the humans from the ground and from the air.

"Sir, Overlord wants to know if you have the artillery's coordination." Reported a Lance-Corporal with a radio in hand.

"I don't fucking know! I thought they were using a drone." Replied Richards as he guides the Marines to evacuate the dead and wounded from the previous air assault.

"They were. The drone got shot down by friendlies behind our lines."

"For Christ's sake! Ajax! Map!" He called loudly before a Corporal came up with a map. "The informant did say that their artillery is a few klicks behind that mountain, correct?" He asked to the men around him.

"Yes sir. 3 klicks North-East." Answered the Sergeant-Major.

"Right, so that means that their heavy support is about..." He looked through the map, then pointed at a specific grid. "There. Echo 3 and 4 to Foxtrot 3 and 4."

"The entire grids, sir?" Asked the forward air controller with uncertainty.

"The whole fucking grid. I want their base burned to hell. Get me all the air support we could gather and fire everything at that area." He demanded, determined to end the battle today.

"Overlord, this is Trojan 2, requesting fire mission at Echo 3-4 to Foxtrot 3-4. Fire with everything you've got left for us. How copy?" Requested the radio operator.

" _Solid copy. We've got A-10s and JASDF F-2s on the way for a bombing raid. ETA 5 mikes."_

"That should break their morale." Noted Richards.

* * *

The rotary gun shook slightly the cockpit as Inaho fired the gun. He pulled up the joystick, which made the aircraft tilt upwards. He veered off to the right after gaining some altitude and descended for the fourth time at the enemy, firing the 20mm gun. He managed to take out some infantry units and two tank-like digimon. As he ascends again to the skies, he looked below and saw that the entire forest at the other side of the mountains was sprawling with hundreds of enemy soldiers.

"Alpha 1, be advised. You've got couple hundreds of enemy foot soldiers coming your way. How copy?"

" _10-4, Hunter 3. We'll halt the assaut from here and hold our position. Thanks for the heads-up!"_ Responded Yanagida.

" _Hunter 3, this is Overlord. We have coordinates for an air strike from the Marines of 1st Battalion."_ Informed the air controller of the air base.

"Roger that, ready for fire mission."

" _In 5 mikes, you have Hunter 1, 2 and 4 along with American A-10s coming to assist you. We are sending the coordinates now."_ As on cue, he received the coordinations on his digital map.

"Coordinates received, Overlord. Going in. Weapon's lock and loaded." He reported before veering to the requested location.

Shells and missiles were fired at a frequent rate but it was starting to die down as the Metal Empire artillery units' commanders try to get communications with the troops at the frontlines. Fujinmon just watched them with amusement while Vajramon was yelling at them.

"What do you mean by that?!" The commander asked angrily at his subordinates.

"We are receiving fire support requests from all units but as we try to confirm the coordination they are either dead or taking fire." Answered the Sealsdramon with fright in his voice. "We cannot risk friendly fire, s-sir."

"By the Gods! You are all useless!" He scolded angrily at them before calling a Commandramon. "What's the status on our front?"

"Our left flank has collasped and our center forces are not moving an inch. Our right flank is starting to loose some grounds." The Commandramon stuttered out, afraid that his superior officer might beat him in place.

Vajramon growled furiously and kicked up a huge chunk of dirt in the air.

"Get the reserves up and running. I want them to reinforce the center force!" He ordered to the commando digimon before he turned to the artillery commanders. "And as of you four idiots! I want you to blow that mountain-"

"ENEMY AIRCRAFT INBOUND!" Warned a MetalGreymon before firing at it.

"Everyone battle stations, now!" Shouted a Metal Empire officer.

"Shoot at that aircraft!" Vajramon ordered them.

He stared at the aircraft, narrowing his eyes as to see what it was doing. Then he saw sparks of light coming from its nose, followed with multiple bullets whizzing near him. A couple of troopers got shot and killed while the artillery units aimed at the aircraft.

"Fire!" A Sealsdramon officer ordered.

The aircraft dropped another JDAM bomb as soon as the artillery units opened fire. Vajramon was being pushed back by the shockwave the explosion has produced upon impact, before being engulfed in the similar black cloud. Fujinmon managed to fly off and saw the fiery orange glow from above. As he gazes at the aircraft, he spotted a group of aircrafts coming towards them. He flew back to the ground to warn the troops.

"Everyone get out of here! Vacate the area now! We've got hostile air force coming in fast!" He shouted as loud as he could as he goes in the black cloud to find and help other digimon.

Suddenly he heard a distinctive whir of machines from above. It was shortly followed with the screams of digimon being shot and metal being teared apart along with blood splatters.

Powerful jet engines flew above him, piercing through the cloud of dust, thus it quickly dissipated. Fujinmon looked around him, he only saw destruction at his feet. Not a single digimon was spared in the blast. He then spotted Vajramon who was wandering around sluggishly and clutching his abdomen.

"Vajramon! Are you okay?" He asked as he walks up to him.

He gasped and his eyes widened when he noticed that the bull digimon's torso was riveled with bullet holes as if the Digizoid chestplate armour was nothing. Fujinmon looked up as he hears the engines of the aircrafts coming back.

"Come on. Let me help you get out of here. They're going to drop their bombs again." He calmly said as he wraps an arm around Vajramon, who reluctantly accepts the support.

Vajramon grunted painfully as they slowly walk their way out of the artillery fire base. However they didn't anticipated the aircrafts' speed. The whistles of multiple bombs dropping was heard behind them as they try to quicken their pace. But they were still too slow. The bombs blew up half of the entire camp, engulfing a huge chunk of the artillery and reserves in the fearsome blasts and the rest in the series of black smoke clouds. The shockwaves destroyed the tents and equipments installed.

Fujinmon was on the ground, unconscious. He later opened his eyes at the sound of the roars of the humans' air support. He coughed loudly and groggily stood up. He grunted once he felt pain on his head and ribcage, but he concluded that he didn't received any serious damage. Screams and moans of the wounded was heard around him. The battle still raged on at the mountains.

Fujinmon wanders through the desolated and destroyed camp. Feeling tired and in pain, he called out for survivors.

"H-here... someone p-p-please help m-me..." A weak voice beckoned near him.

He walked to the direction of the voice and later found a heavily wounded Sealsdramon. He has his left leg completely amputated and armour pierced by bullets. His visor and helmet was smashed in half, revealing his face covered with a gruesome scar and blood that seeped out of his face. Blood was profusely gauging out of his armoured chestplates.

"S-sir..." He said weakly as reaches his hand out.

Fujinmon knelt beside him and grabbed his hand.

"Don't worry, I'll get you out of here alive. Just stay with me," He said to him with determination. "Medic! Medic!" He shouted, hoping that someone would respond.

After minutes of waiting, the Sealsdramon was slowly losing his consciousness. He swore under his breath and carried the dying trooper somewhere in the camp in the hopes of finding a physician.

"Come on! Stay with me! You'll be out of here soon." He encouraged him as he sped up his pace and called out once more.

"I know..." Sealsdramon finally said.

Fujinmon stooped and looked at him in confusion.

"Thank you, sir... It has been an honour...to s-serve..."

With his final words spoken, the soldier dissolves into data in the arms of the Storm Commander. Fujinmon stood still for a full minute. He was trying to hold out some tears as he was internally saddened by the recent death. He finally let out a shaken sigh and wiped a tear away. A Commandramon with his right arm bandaged came up behind the commander with a portable radio on his back.

"Sir, have you seen Leftenant-Colonel Vajramon?" He asked while looking around tiredly.

"He's dead." Fujinmon replied coldly.

At first shocked, the Commandramon then straightened his back and saluted the new commanding officer.

"What are your new orders, sir?"

"Gather all our remaining air force and artillery units and tell them to cover our infantry while they fall back."

"We're pulling out?"

"No, just regrouping for a final assault."

The Commandramon nodded and transmit the orders through his radio.

* * *

Night came once again in the Digital World, envelopping it in darkness. Clusters of firefight were still ongoing but for the most time it was relatively quiet, maybe too quiet for the Marines and JGSDF staying up for the night in case of another counter-charge.

Raymond was listening carefully to Richards' instructions in his radio headset. Around him were his 2IC and all the squad leaders of Alpha company, including from the mortar teams.

"Alright, just got new orders from the Battalion officer. He wants us to push forward now." He finally informed them.

"You can't be serious?!" Asked Flamedramon in disbelief. "Does he know that this is going to turn into a massacre?"

"Intel said that we should be able to push up at least 100 meters before the enemy could respond." Raymond explained.

"With all do respect, sir, Intel have been fucking with us quite a numerous time." Dukeman pointed out, to which almost everyone agreed.

"I know, but Richards confirmed that the info is 70% sure about this."

"Then when are we going to get a 100% sure?" Asked rethorically Renamon behind the group.

"I suggest that you should at least send us to recon the area first before going in gung-ho out there." Proposed 2nd Lieutenant Colbert.

"Frankly, gentlemen, I'm not hearing the aggression I like." Raymond said sternly. "Look, their artillery is destroyed, their camp burned to the ground and their morale is probably crippled. We have the upper hand here and I'm not letting that go, not now, especially when the lives of my men depend on it."

Everyone stayed silent, knowing that Raymond had a point.

"No more objections? Good. 1st platoon along with Recon come with me, the rest of you stay here at the ridge to cover us from the higher grounds. Oorah?"

"Oorah!" They all said before preparing for the nocturnal assault.

A single bright red flare was shot at high altitude that could be seen above the battlefield. It was the signal to attack. The entire coalition force moved out from their cover and went down the slopes of the mountains. Alpha company quietly went down the ridge and ran up the knoll as stealthly as possible. The Recon units occupied the knoll to provide an overwatch as the rest of the company continued to move forward into the forest that surrounded the knoll. Suddenly shots were fired around them, supposedly from the other companies' front. Raymond halted the squads and ordered them to get down.

They waited patiently while the rest of the Battalion was already locked in combat. Then Raymond started to hear some leaves and branches cracking. The Marines readied their weapons and waited for his order.

"Alpha 4-1, fire an illumination flare right above us." Requested Raymond quietly.

A moment later and a bright flare was shot up above the knoll. The flare then revealed at least three dozen enemy troopers as close as 10 meters from their position and advancing slowly. Raymond rapidly aimed his rifle and opened fire at two Commandramon. An intense close-quarters firefight ensued right after. Raymond immediately ducked down and threw out a frag grenade blindly ahead of him.

"Guilmon! I want H.E rounds at 50 meters from our positions! Light them up!" He demanded.

The Metal empire troopers gave a loud battle cry as they charged in a suicidal attack at their foes, with their bayonets ready to kill. Raymond parried a strike, then bashed the buttstock of his rifle at his opponents cheek. He took out his M9 pistol and fired a couple shots.

"Maintain your positions, Marines! Maintain positions! Dukeman shouted to give them a morale boost as they go through another hectic firefight.

The low mountains was lit up with explosions and tracer rounds. Men and digimon fought in the darkness as the engagements eventually close in and turns into a hellish brawl battle. However with the Metal empire's morale crippled they were quickly dispatched. The Marines and JGSDF coalition held their lines through the whole night as they continued to fight in what seems to be Hell on Earth.


	23. Chapter 22

Chapter 22:

Royal Knights

Hours has passed after the sun finally showed up. The coaliton force and the Metal Empire force had just went through a sleepless night. The coalition force has managed to push back the enemy line and there was only a kilometer for them the pass before they reach the enemy base. Managing to link with eachother and now at standby behind the edge of the forest.

Richards lets out an exhausted yawn before he looked back at his subordinates. They were tired after two whole nights of constant action. Covered from head to toe in dirt and grime and for some in blood, they however still have the will to fight once again.

"Fix bayonets and check your ammo. We're going on my mark. One final push, Marines." Instructed the Battalion officer.

After receiving the order, the Marines and JGSDF took out their bayonets simultanously and fixed the blade at the end of their rifle's barrel. The distinctive click of the bayonets and of weapons loaded with a new mag was heard all across the frontline. Richards aimed down the ACOG's sight. The tip of the trijicon reticle was at the head of a Sealsdramon. Both forces knew what will happen in just a few seconds. A moment of eerie silence filled the battlefield as they prepare themselves for one final assault. One final fight. To the very last breath.

The Sealdramon was about to give out the order to charge but got his head shot by Richards who stood and opened fire while moving forward, catching the Metal Empire troops off guard as the rest of the entire coalition now charged. The humans let out a warcry as they go down the slopes of the hill and into the arid clearing.

Time seemed to pass rapidly as the humans gun down and stab and bash at every enemy soldier they see. Some human soldiers got killed but they didn't stop their advance, quickly overruning the enemy's first line of defense.

Raymond charged at a Commandramon who hadn't reacted quick enough and got stabbed through his chest. Raymond use all of his strenght to force his opponent to the ground and withdrew the bayonet. He then drew out his sidearm and continued to fight on with it. Dispatching enemy troops left and right, Raymond was drying his pistol magazines quicker than he could shoot. A Sealsdramon ran up to him with his combat knife at the ready. Raymond turned around and fired at his opponent's left foot and then at his head once he dropped on the ground. He then heard another Commandramon charging him before he got killed by Guilmon, who launched an attack to save him. Raymond gave a thumb-up and Guilmon nodded in response.

The coalition force kept on pushing through and ran up the hill that led to the camp. But as soon as they reached the top of the other ridge, they stopped dead on their tracks. A white flag was hung at the end of a flag pole and the humans were met with the forces of the Royal Knights. Metal Empire troops were gathered in groups as they were being inspected and watched over by the Strike force.

The coalition stared at the scene in disbelief and confusion. Richards was the first one to finally step forward and slowly approached the destroyed camp. The humans shortly followed suit.

"Lieutenant-Colonel Richards, glad to see you alive." Greeted Captain OuRyumon with a small grin.

Richards saluted the captain and then asked tiredly. "What- How did this happened?"

"Thanks to your informant that we've received, we managed to call out the Metal Empire for lying and abusing its neutral status. We also found that they were funding the Imperium's legions with soldiers and supplies." UlforceVeedramon explained after landing beside the Strike force captain.

Richards was at lost of words before feeling his blood boil. "Then why the fuck you idiots didn't help us or even warn us you were here." Both the digimon went pale by the human's sudden anger. "I've lost men to get here, many men, all for nothing! What the fuck, guys?"

UlforceVeedramon gulped nervously and then started: "We, uh, didn't really plan this through-"

"No fucking shit!" Richards cuts him furiously, "Bunch of incompetent idiots!"

"Look I know it was devastating and that you all been through hell but we recently just got here. Take some rest, sir. We'll handle this from here on out. Take care of your wounded." Suggested OuRyumon before he returned to his tasks.

Several minutes later, the humans were greeted by Royal Knights' physicans and U.S Army's medics. Enemy or not, all wounded were being taken care off equally. However, the Marines' opinion on the Royal Knights just turned sour.

Stephen rested under a tree and dumped an entire water bottle on his head to cool off the heat and tension in his head. A satisfied smile rested on his face as he laid down and closed his eyes. However his rest was interrupted when someone lightly kicked his right foot.

"Mind if I take the spot next to you?" The figure asked.

Stephen opened his eyes and saw that the figure was Richards, who beamed at him a grin.

"Sure." He lazily replied and Richards sat next to him.

They rested in silence for awhile before Richards coughed to grab Stephen's attention.

"I want to tell you that, since you're a Captain now, I want to give you a gift to celebrate your promotion." He announced, which prompted curiosity to Stephen.

Richards pulled out a worn desert coloured M45 MEUSOC. He then presented it to him.

"This is my M45 from my days in Force Recon. I want you to have it because you're going to need it more than me... and because I'm not a gun nut like you when it comes to M911s." He added jokingly at the end.

He handed the sidearm to Stephen, who took it carefully as if it was a Christmas present.

"You do know Christmas has already passed, right?" Stephen joked. "But jokes aside, I can't believe you're giving me this."

"Listen, Stephen. We've known each other since Afghanistan and we've been best buds since then, just accept it alright." Richards stated before he stood back up. "Well I'm not staying here any longer for the sappy moments, I still have some business left to do. See you later." Richards waved at him and went on.

Stephen inspected his new pistol with a small childish grin. He placed it in an empty mag carrier and went back to resting his eyes.

Various transport helicopters arrived at the newly established Landing Zone to evacuate the dead and the wounded while the Metal Empire troops prepared themselves to go back to Facture.

As the sun died down the coalition forces were finally able to evacuate out of the battlefield. The ride back to base went in silence as the Marines were finally able to take the time to reflect upon what they have just been through, the constant firefight, the sleepless nights and the loss of friends.

An hour later, the Marines of 1st Battalion finally came back to their base, all of them had tired and stunned looks on their faces and they directly hit the beds as soon as they possibly can.

* * *

 _January 18th 2018, Eniac Continent._

The mighty roars of the CH-53E Super Stallion's rotors shook the aircraft's passenger compartement, interrupting Captain Raymond's small nap from time to time.

" _Landing in 30 seconds."_ The pilot announced to the Marines.

Though they were all equipped with their combat gears on, the Marines of Alpha company 1st Battalion are not going in a combat mission but they are actually moving to a new base, one that they do not need to build from scratch.

" _Welcome to fort Albion, Devil Dogs, you're all knights in shining armour now."_ Announced jokingly the pilot as the helicopter touched down on the LZ platform.

Raymond ordered the Marines out of the helicopter and to gather with the rest of the company. Below the helicopter platform was a courtyard where the entire company gathered around Raymond and Alphamon, who welcomed them gratefully.

"Alright, listen up! Since this isn't your usual military base, there are some strict and mandatory rules to respect." He then looked down at the rules imposed by Duftmon. "Weapons and combat armour are staying in the garrison, a sidearm is allowed for officers and NCOs only. All facilities are open and allowed for us to use. Available between 0500 and 0200 hours. Just show your permission badge at the staff and you're good to go. Other than that, the other rules are basically common sense and the same as any combat outpost we've been before. Welcome to your new home Marines."

"Oorah!" They all replied before marching to their new garrison.

"I hope you'll enjoy your stay, captain." Alphamon said to Raymond.

"If we don't get under attack by terrorists on a daily basis then yes, I'll probably enjoy my time here, Alphamon." Raymond responded with a joking smile.

"I have always been intrigued with how you fight in your recent wars, Captain, mind if you can share me some of these stories," The Aloof Hermit proposed to which Raymond accepted. "Do you like tea, captain?"

"I'm more of a hot chocolate person but tea is okay." Answered Raymond, feeling welcomed in the fort.

 _January 20_ _th_ _2018, Castle Albion target range._

"Contact!" Shouted Raymond.

Some Marines of 1st platoon turned left, aimed at the target dummies and opened fire simultanously. Shots connected to the dummies, releasing high pitched _ting_. The Marines were demonstrating their weapons and tactics to the Royal Knights, who were gathered behind the target range.

After firing half a magazine, the Marines rested their weapons on the tables beside them and Raymond metionned the Royal Knights to come over. The Digimon knights came over and a Marine explained them how their weapons worked.

After the instruction of the weapon's uses, they were instructed to use the rifles at the range, which was a funny sight for the Marines. In the beginning the Royal Knights didn't know how to properly use the rifles but after some bit of help from Marines, they were all able to fire at the targets with some decent accuracy.

"This is actually kinda fun to use." UlforceVeedramon pointed out with a huge grin plastered on his face.

"How are you faring, Sleipmon?" Asked Dukemon, who was proud of his accuracy with the M16A4.

"Pretty good." Sleipmon replied casually.

"'Pretty good'? Bro, 90% of your shots went straight to the head. You're just being modest." Brook pointed out, impressed with the Royal Knights exceptional precision.

Dukemon's pride instantly broke upon hearing it.

"Think we can try some of their bigger guns?" Dynasmon asked hopefully to Craniumon.

"Alright, who wants to try the M240 light machine gun?" Dukeman asked loudly as he brings Cyberdramon's weapon over the table.

"Looks like your wish just came true." Craniumon said to Dynasmon.

An hour as passed as the Royal Knights tested out some human weapons such as assault rifles, sniper rifles and light and heavy machine guns. The day went on uneventfully. At the mess hall, the canteen was crowded with the addition of the Marines who were enjoying their meals blissfully. Raymond and Dukeman sat at the same table with Dukemon, Duftmon and Magnamon.

"Jesus! Rhodo's cooking is heaven compared to our usuals." Exclaimed Dukeman as he devours his food.

"It has been a long time since I've enjoyed a good meal." Raymond added before burping loudly. "Sorry about that."

"Is food really that bad in your canteens?" Magnamon asked curiously.

"Bad and bland." Dukeman replied.

"As bland as Duftmon." Raymond whispered, earning laughter around the table except Duftmon, who glared at him.

"I'm just fucking with you, Duftmon, you need to chill." Raymond said with a relaxed smile.

"I'll 'chill' once this war is over," He took a quick sip of his water, "I'll be in the library, if any of you want to find me." He then took his plate and walked out.

Once he was out of their sight, Dukeman leaned in and asked quietly: "Is he always like that?"

"Yeah, he doesn't really open up too much," Magnamon answered nonchalantly, "Quite sad that he thinks that friendship is useless."

"Odd..." Stephen noted, "He should know that camaderie is essential in a military unit; keeps them in cohesion. He should know that, it's basic CO 101."

"Maybe he didn't get the same lessons as you guys." Hypothesized Dukemon casually.

"Impossible, read his file," The human officer explained, "One of the best students in at Qinglongmon Academy, and to my knowledge, that academy forms some of the best tacticians in this world."

"So what's your point?" Asked the white Hazard knight, now intrigued.

"I think he's simply an introvert, not too social, shy maybe?"

"Well good luck making friends with him, I've tried numerous and he always get under my skin." Dukemon stated with his arms crossed.

"Challenge accepted!"

With a quick sip of his cup of water, he quickly got off the table and began his quest. The two Royal Knights looked at each other in confusion before looking at the other human.

"Don't look at me!" He said with his hands raised defensively.

* * *

 _January 25th 2018, Village Summerdaft._

A dozen of M-ATVs were speeding through the expansive grassland towards a burning village, under sieged by local bandits. The Marines of 1st platoon were following Duftmon, Examon, Dukemon and UlforceVeedramon, who were all flying above the convoy.

" _Royal 5, this is Alpha 1, we're going to proceed to evacuate the civvies first away from the battle, think you can handle two ultimates and two champions?"_ Raymond asked to Duftmon through his radio earpiece.

"Affirmative. Just get the civilians away, that is all." Duftmon replied calmly.

" _Roger that..."_ Raymond responded with a bit of dread in his voice.

"Examon, provide overwatch from above, cover the Marines with their evac. Ulforce, you take out the two champions while Dukemon and I hold off the ultimates until all civilians are cleared." Duftmon instructed methodically. "Is that clear?"

The three other Royal Knights nodded with determination and parted away once they closed in on the village.

Going through the Eastern entrance of the village, the Marines could see the flames on the other side of the village, where the attack was reported. Fortunately, only a small part of the village has been afflicted from the destruction, for now.

Deploying at the edge of the area of operation, the Marines occupied all roads that led to the AO and set up a defensive position, weapons at the ready when a Digimon would harm a civilian. Team leaders instructed loudly at the villagers to vacate the area in a calm and orderly fashion, doing their best to reassure the panicking general population.

"Status report, Marines!" Raymond demanded to all squad leaders.

" _2nd squad clear!"_

" _3rd squad clear, no hostiles spotted!"_

" _4th squad clear, Examon is providing an overwatch for us!"_

"1st squad clear, Captain!" Answered Dukeman.

Suddenly, an explosion erupted near their defensive perimeter followed by Examon responding to the threat with a long range attack.

" _This is 4th squad. Uh... correction on status. We've got possible hostiles a block ahead of us, should we engage them?"_ Asked Flamedramon unsure on how to respond.

"If there are no more civvies, you can. In other cases, you hold your position until then. If you see them, light those fuckers up." Raymond instructed.

" _Roger that, holding position."_

Just as Ulforceveedramon arrived to stop a Revolmon and a Hanumon, a Metalgreymon Virus appeared from the corner of a street and opened fire. The cobalt Royal Knight has easily dodged the attack and Examon fired in response. Meanwhile the two Champion level Digimon used the opportunity to escape.

Revolmon climbed onto Hanumon's back and ordered him to flee hurriedly. The Beast digimon was at first confused and reluctant until he saw Dukemon approaching them at high speeds. Hanumon ran quickly and made a sharp turn to the right at the end of the block and sped up. However, he eventually stopped shortly in his tracks once his eyes laid upon a small group of heavily armed humans with their weapons aimed at them as if they were expected.

"Light them up!" Flamedramon ordered loudly.

Hanumon ran the other way while Revolmon tried to fire back. A .50 cal round struck right through Hanumon's left knee, exploding the bones and flesh into a mess of shattered bones and oozing and fleshy bits. Hanumon fell violently on the ground with a roar of pain. Revolmon was launched a few meters ahead by the sudden fall. The Beast digimon tried to get up on his foot with defiance, only to be gunned down by several more small arms rounds.

"Come on, Hanumon! You can make it!" Revolmon shouted desperately to encourage.

The pain was too much for him to handle and he fell unconscious before bursting into data particles.

"NOOO!" Revolmon narrowed his yellow dot eyes and charged at the Marines. "Justice Bullet!" He said before firing a giant bullet from his torso.

The Marines managed to jump out of the way as the bullet impacted on the M-ATV that caused no serious damage to the vehicle. The gunner of the vehicle retalihated with a burst of .50 caliber rounds, all of which connected to Revolmon's head and exploded his entire body.

"Alpha-Actual, this is Alpha 1-4. Two hostiles neutralized and defensive perimeter is secured. All civilians have been evacuated." Reported Flamedramon after checking up on his squadmates.

" _10-4. Link up with 1-3 and take out the Metalgreymon."_

After receiving the report and that the civilians had been evacuated in their area, Raymond ordered 1st squad to move out and assist Duftmon, who was a few blocks away.

Duftmon Leopard mode narrowly dodged an attack by his opponent before sending a kick to Grappuleomon's face to disoriente him. He jumped a few meters back then summoned pillars of bedrock that erupted from the ground and tossed Grappuleomon to the air.

"Blockade!" He shouted as he tears his opponent in the air from every angle.

Grappuleomon crashed violently on the stone road, creating a deep crater around him. Duftmon landed gracefully only a few feet away of the crater. At the other side of the crater, three M-ATVs arrived and a group of humans came out, their weapons trained on the crater.

"I thought I told you to evacuate the villagers!" Duftmon sneered as soon as his eyes laid on Raymond angrily.

"We did. All civilians have been evacuated and we took out the two champion digimon." Raymond replied calmly before eyeing the crater. "Is he dead?" He asked curiously.

Duftmon reverted back to his original form and walked up to the crater, observing the unconscious Grappuleomon.

"No." He simply answered.

"Do you take prisonners or not?" Asked Dukeman as he and Raymond looked at the bandit.

"We'll take him for questionning." Duftmon said as he approaches the digimon and took out a restraining collar.

" _Alpha-Actual, this is 1-3. The greymon has been dealt with."_ Reported Sergeant Harris.

"There was a Greymon amongst them?" Duftmon asked confusely.

"No, he meant Metalgreymon. Most of us don't know much about digimon." Raymond explained to the Royal Knight.

However the answer seems to only to annoy Duftmon.

"Then make your men learn more, Captain. We cannot operate correctly if your men give us wrong information." He scoffed at Raymond.

"Hey, it's not as if we expected that a kid's game was actually real and that we would be fighting them." Raymond responded back.

The two stared at each other with hostility for a moment until Examon landed near them to carry Grappuleomon.

"Uh... is everything okay here?" The massive dragon asked with worry and uncertainty.

"Everything is fine. In fact, Duftmon here was about to thank us for assisting you. Isn't that right?" Raymond replied with mock grin.

"By the way, yeah thanks for the help. I think the others are as grateful as us that you guys are here now, makes the job a whole lot more easier." Examon stated happily, completely oblivious at the apparent rivalry between Duftmon and Raymond.

"Right... thank you for your services." Duftmon forced out bitterly after sighing frustratingly. "Now Examon, would you kindly take care of this scum while I talk with the mayor of the village." He instructed coldly to the 'Dragon Emperor'.

While Duftmon talked with the mayor of Summerdaft, the Marines of 1st platoon were preparing to move back to castle Albion with Examon.

"Are all Marines accounted for?" Asked Raymond to Dukeman.

"Yes sir. We've substained no casualties however one of our vehicles just got a scratch." Reported the Gunnery-Sergeant with a salute.

"And the Royal Knight?"

"He is ready when we are, sir."

"Alright then. We're oscar-mike." Stated Raymond before going in the armoured transport vehicle.

As the Marines drove out of the village, the local population cheered happily at them, waving goodbye and shouting 'thank you' to the servicemen. Some of them waved back.

While Raymond was listening carefully to the reports going in the radio, Brook was giving a few glances of worry at his captain.

"Permission to speak, sir." He asked.

"Granted." Raymond allowed casually.

"Mind to tell what just happened between you two back there?" Brook asked although a bit scared that he trugded in a private territory.

"It's just that... these past few days Duftmon and I are having a bit of a disagreement. Nothing to serious."

"I hope so. You know what they say in the military: communication is key for a succesful cooperation." Raymond looked back at him with mild interest.

"You made up that last part, right?"

Brook shrugged with a sly smile. "Maybe... it was cool in my head." He said sheepishly.

"Just keep your eyes on the road." Raymond snickered.

Later that night, the Royal Knights and the commanding officers of 1st and 2nd platoon were de-briefing on the operations in the war room. 2nd platoon, who assisted Magnamon, Rhodoknightmon, Sleipmon and Craniamon, only substained 3 wounded but little property damage was made on the town of Drachenritter thanks to their quick thinking and adaptibility. They managed to get all 8 raiders under arrest and sent for interrogation by the Stealth Force.

The next subject of the meeting is about the plans of a future military base for the IDDF in the continent, the next assault operation and the permission for the Marines to operate freely in the continent. The latter subject became quite a heated debate between the two forces, or more precisely between two individuals.

"Leaving that much freedom to the humans will only weaken our influence and cooperation with the population of Eniac and of the DigiWorld." Duftmon stated while shooting a glare at Raymond.

"Communication between our forces has been quite difficult for us. Reinforcements and supplies are spread too thin and if we don't have a least one operational base in each continent or zones, our forces will be overrun quite easily." Raymond explained calmly, trying to convince the Royal Knights.

"As if that will make things any better." Countered Duftmon.

"What do you mean by that, Duftmon?" Asked Magnamon curiously.

"Afghanistan, Irak and Syria, to name a few, are all warzones that NATO have failed to stabilise. Enormous amount of ressources have been spent to only make situations worse and cost more lives." Duftmon stated angrily.

"You better watch what you're saying there." Dukeman warned coldly. "A lot of good men died there."

"So has the innocent lives lost by your hands!" Duftmon sneered. "Your so-call advance tactics and technologies were beaten by a group of cavemen in pyjamas that use obsolete military equipment!"

Almost everyone in the room looked at Duftmon in shock and surprise that the tactician lost his stoic composure. The tense quickly escalated and Alphamon, like most Royal Knights, was at a lost of words. Dukeman was about to come to Duftmon to beat him up but Raymond stopped him immediately in his tracks. Raymond let a frustrated sigh before he spoke up.

"Look, I think it's clear that you've read about our conflicts in the Middle East recently and probably in the Cold War. I must admit that, eventhough our military is the strongest in NATO, we still do horrible mistakes. Mistakes are, as we say, human." He then narrowed his gaze at Duftmon. "But let me tell you something, and you better listen carefully: my Marines are determined to end this war once and for all. The same could be said for all the armies of every nation. Billions of lives are at stake in our world and even more in this world. This is a new type of war that we haven't face before and cooperation is key to success." He then walked up to Duftmon and offered his hand. "All that I'm asking of you is to give us a hand. You may hate for our ways of warfare but I think it would be benefical for both of us if we keep our differences aside and focus on the more important matter. I promise that once we're done here, you won't see our faces or our militaries, in this world."

Duftmon stared at Raymond with some skeptism. He then looked at the hand and took it hesitantly. The two shook hands firmly, prompting Alphamon to let out a breath of relief.

"Alright, Captain Raymond, we're allowing your forces to station in Eniac and to patrol the surrounding towns and villages. Raids or covert operations, however, they should be spoken to me personally for approval." Alphamon stated calmly.

"Thank you, sir." Raymond responded with a salute.

Thus, a close alliance was born between the Royal Knights and the Marines of Alpha company 1st Battalion, begins.

 _Meanwhile in Renamon's and Roach's sleeping quarters._

Renamon was resting her head against the head stand of her bed and reading a book while Gary was thouroughly cleaning his new MK11 MOD 0 rifle on his bed.

"What are you reading?" Asked Gary while inspecting the internals of the upper receiver.

"Digimon Xros Wars. Flamedramon lend it to me so I could kill some time." She replied casually.

"Isn't that weird to read it? Or uncomfortable?" Gary asked curiously.

"A little bit, yes. Sometimes creepy by how accurate it is eventhough humans didn't know the Digital World exist and that this story is fiction."

"I bet it's like reading a story of your life a little bit." Gary suggested amusingly.

"A little bit." She simply added before going back to her reading while Gary resumed his inspection.

A calm and relax silence once again filled the room for several minutes until a question popped in Gary's mind.

"Hey, Renamon," The digimon fox simply hummed in response. "How much do you know about the Digimon World since, you know, it's always expanding."

Renamon put down her book on her waist and thought for an easy and quick answer.

"As much as a History teacher. That could also be said for your History. Why?"

Gary looked at Renamon with surprise, awed that she knows both worlds extensively.

"Well then, Rena-sensei-"

"Don't call me that." She warned him.

"Right, sorry. Can you explain me why time seems to follow our standards when we're initially in the internet. Shouldn't time here fly a lot faster?"

"It used to fly at a much faster rate. A day in the Real World is a full year in the DigiWorld. The programmers simply modified the timeline so that it is in accordance with Japan's time zone so that it won't complicate the higher ups with the supplies and reinforcements and to prevent 98% of our forces to experience time sickness." She explained as a matter-of-factly.

Gary's jaw dropped, amazed that Renamon could come with an explination in a blink of an eye.

"No wonder Guilmon fell for you." He muttered under his breath.

"One of many reasons." Renamon added with an amusing smile, having heard Gary's comment.


	24. Chapter 23

Chapter 23:

A veteran and two rookies

 _January 28th 2018, town of Drachenherz._

Staff Sergeant Marcus "Roman" Damascus and the Marines of 1st squad, 2nd platoon, were on their first patrol in the local area. The three vehicle sized convoy was overwatching the the town's main marketplace, which was in front of the church. However, it seems that the digimon were more curious at them than the goods in the stands. Dozens of townspeople stare at the vehicles with awe and some with fear. Eventually it had proved a problem for Marcus and his Marines since the local populace was blocking the street and their view on the marketplace.

"So... what should we do now, sarge?" Asked the young PFC. Jason Clive, who was the lead M-ATV's driver.

"We'll just have to go on foot." Marcus groaned and took his M4A1 carbine. "Myers, Scott! On me!" He ordered before going out of the vehicle. "The rest of you stay here." He later instructed through his radio headset.

After managing to go through the heavy crowd of digimon, the small 3-men team were able to proceed to their mundane foot patrol in the marketplace. The local marketplace was packed with different digimon wandering around, giving the Marines a hard time to navigate through due to their relatively small size.

They were merely looking around casually, sometimes they'll stop by to a stand and chat a little with the local sellers and townspeople. While Marcus talked with the locals, PFC. Nick Myers and Lcpl. Dan 'Scott' Pilgrim looked around with curiosity at the diverse goods of the DigiWorld like children staring at a showcase of a toy store.

"Ooh, what's that?" Nick asked with interest as he points at a hexagonal package.

"Uh, excuse me. My friend here is curious of what you are selling." Dan asked politely to the Aegiomon merchant.

"These are DigiNoir, a popular digimon snack that grows on trees. There are lot in the Island Zone." The digimon explained with a proud smile.

"Dude, that means it's like as if skittles grew on trees!" Stated Nick amazed by the fact.

"Can you imagine the possibilities if that was true in our world?" Hypothesized Dan with the same tone.

"I can give you a package for free if you want." Suggested Aegiomon, handing them the snack.

The two Marines were a bit hesitant due to Marcus' strict policy with the locals, but thanks the Aegiomon's further persuasion, they eventually accepted.

"Think of it as a 'thank you for your services' gift." The merchant added.

The Marines opened the package and were initially disappointed with the appearance of the grain/cereal-like snack, they were hoping for some candies or chocolates but they took a handful and ate. They immediately took a liking to it.

"This is like it came from the Heavens." Commented Dan as he took more from the package.

"And they have in abundance. Dude, I think we've just found our solution to world hunger." Nick added after quickly finishing his DigiNoir and bought two others.

"Somebody stop those two thieves now!" A merchant shouted nearby.

The Marine patrol team ran towards the merchant's stands, pushing aside Digimon to go through the curious crowd. They saw a stand on the ground with its fruits spilled all over the pavement.

"Who did this?" Marcus asked the Veedramon merchant.

"It's those two rookies running away!" Veedramon shouted in response.

Marcus looked at the direction the dramon pointed at and spotted a Gabumon and an Agumon running away from the crowd with bags full of fruits. Marcus signaled his men to follow him and they chased the two rookie digimon. He ordered the rest of the squad to stay put.

Agumon and Gabumon ran to an alleyway and hid behind tall barrels to catch some breath. After the two calmed down, they suddenly laugh cheerfully from the adrenaline rush.

"You think someone followed us?" Asked Gabumon after the laughter died down.

"Nope." Agumon replied confidently as he takes a bite at an apple.

Just as they were about to walk out of the alleyway, their way was blocked by three human soldiers. The rookie digimon raised their hands in surrender, Agumon dropped the bag full of fruits by accident while doing so.

"Dan, take the bag." Ordered Marcus calmly.

"So, what should we do, Staff Sergeant?" Asked Nick curiously.

"We'll just bring these kids back to their homes." He replied before he knelt down to face the two digimon. "Where are you from?"

The two rookies looked at each other hesitantly before Gabumon answered shyly:

"The Primary Village..."

Marcus looked at the digimon with surprise. "That's a long way from here, you know."

Agumon and Gabumon nodded with their heads hung in shame.

"Right. Dan return the fruits to the merchant and meet us back at the vehicles." He instructed before facing back at the rookies. "You two follow me. We're bringing you back home."

The two digimon felt relief washing over them but they still feel nervous once they think about Wargreymon's reaction when they return. Once they joined up with the rest of the squad, Marcus instructed the digimon to go in the RG-33 MRAP. Meanwhile the Staff Sergeant was reporting the platoon commander about the recent incident in the M-ATV.

"We're simply going to deposit the rookies at the Primary Village, so expect us at least at 1800 hours." He explained to 2nd Lieutenant McCliff.

" _Alright then. Travel safe, Marines."_ He responded.

"Will do." Marcus then turned to the driver. "You know the way, Clive?" The Marine driver simply nodded and started up the engine.

The three massive transport vehicles slowly moved out of the town and headed to the Primary Village. Meanwhile in the RG-33, Agumon and Gabumon looked around them with awe and curiosity at all the military equipment present in the vehicle. Though they were cramped in their seats with the Marines, they didn't mind, they were too pre-occupied by how cool the humans' military arsenal looked. The Marines in the transport had small smiles of pride upon hearing the comments and praises they were getting.

An hour as passed. The convoy travelled calmly through the peaceful grassy plains of Eniac. The sun shone brightly, envelopping the DigiWorld in its gentle warmth. The gunners of the vehicles felt lucky that they could enjoy the most the scenery around them. Staff Sergeant Marcus had his window opened so he could enjoy some breeze from the fresh air and to cool him off from being cooked in the vehicle. Out of boredom, he started to hum an old song from the 80s. That hum was then joined by Clive who sung along, and later the entire crew began singing loudly, even the gunner.

" _A vacation in a foreign land, Uncle Sam does the best he can_

 _You're in the army now, oh-oo-oh you're in the army now"_

Soon the entire squad sung along happily. Agumon and Gabumon were woken up by the sudden loud and terrible singing but they seemed to enjoy the funny and relaxed atmosphere; oblivious to the rather depressing lyrics of the song.

" _You've got your orders better shoot on sight, your finger's on the trigger but it don't seem right_

 _You're in the army now, oh-oo-oh you're in the army now_

 _You're in the army now, oh-oo-oh you're in the army now"_

At the end, the Marines cheered out loud, feeling a bit relaxed. Half an hour later, the Marines finally arrived at their destination. Wooden palisades were installed around the village. In front of the convoy was a Wargreymon guarding the large wooden gates. The digimon had his arms crossed and he doesn't seem too happy to see humans nearing the important village. Marcus got out of the vehicle with his helmet off and arms raised up to the air to show the digimon he had come in peace.

"We're only here to drop off two of your younglings here." He stated calmly.

"Let me guess: it's Agumon and Gabumon." Wargreymon said with irritation in his voice.

"Uh, yeah. Guess they're the troublemakers." Marcus guessed with an amusing smile.

"Yup. I'll get the gates open."

Marcus went back in the vehicle and instructed the driver to go forward, but slowly and carefully, to avoid crushing any baby Digimon. The Marines then got out of the vehicles and got surprised when they noticed that the ground is elastic, which explained why their vehicles were starting to sink in the ground due to heavy weights. They looked around and were amazed to see such a peaceful and childish area still unharmed by the already decade old war.

The landscape was consisted of large green fields with several stuffed building blocks, trees with toys and plushies hanging from the branches and a large, soft and spongy hill at the center of the village where several baby digimon were bouncing on joyfully. Another field was filled with numerous Digi-Eggs, all waiting to be hatched at any moment. A Swanmon was taking care of the eggs.

"WHERE ARE THESE TWO TROUBLEMAKERS?!" Demanded furiously a small old-lady like digimon stomping towards the Marines with an Elecmon following behind her.

The Marines paled at her furious appearance and walked out of her way as she walks in front of Agumon and Gabumon, their heads hung in shame.

"Do you two have any idea how worry I was?! You've been gone for two days! Two days without any money or food and water!" She scolded at them.

"We're deeply sorry, Babamon, and we promise to never do it ever again." The two rookies stated simultanously in an apologetic tone.

Babamon simply lets a frustrated sigh and ordered them to get in their rooms with Wargreymon escorting them. She turned to Damascus, who stood straightly and saluted her.

"Oh please, no need for fancy formalities. I'm just an old granny, you're the ones fighting with your lives at risk out there." She told him before proposing. "Would any of you gentlemen, like some tea and cookies?"

Marcus face-palmed as soon as his Marines were all getting giddy and happy by the proposition.

"Alright, I guess." He eventually agreed reluctantly after the Marines begged him. "Dan, Nick and Clive stay with the vehicles." He ordered at the three mentionned Marines.

While the Marines were getting some rest or patrolling the village's palisades, dozens of baby digimon huddled around some of them and stared at the humans curiously. A group of digimon looked at Dan, Nick and Clive, who were trying to eat their DigiNoir but they seemed uncomfortable in front of their 'audience'.

Meanwhile with Agumon and Gabumon, Wargreymon was giving another lecture and life lessons in their bedroom.

"Have I made myself clear?" He demanded sternly.

"Yes, Dad." They somberly replied.

Wargreymon knelt down so that his eyes would be at the same level as his two sons.

"Look, I know that this place isn't the best for you but... you need to understand that I doing this to protect you. I can't afford to lose you two. You're everything I have left." He explained to them saddly.

"B-but what about mom?" Asked Gabumon with worry.

"I haven't received any news from her for a month now. I just hope that she is still alive." Answered Wargreymon stoically.

"I miss mom..." Agumon said before he cried on his father's shoulder.

"We all do, son. We all do. But if we put faith in her, then she will be fine. M-maybe she'll come back soon and we'll go back home. Alright?" Wargreymon comforted his two children while still thinking about his wife, who was gone fighting the Imperium across the DigiWorld.

Marcus was walking out of Babamon's house with a bag full of freshly baked cookies. He puts on his helmet and was about to head to the convoy until a question popped in his mind.

"Uh, ma'am. Do you mind if you can tell me why Agumon and Gabumon are here?" He asked curiously.

Babamon sat on her swinging chair that was at the front porch of the house and started to knit while she spoke up.

"Because of the war, Staff Sergeant. Their mother has gone to fight the Imperium while their father, the Wargreymon you just met, took them here as a refuge, a safe place. Wargreymon was once a proud and fierce warrior of the Strike Force back when the war started. But due to a near-death experience four years ago, he was discharged from the military. Since then, he awaits faithfully for his wife to return. But with the Imperium's expansive control, he was about to lose hope. Until you humans came in."

"Until we came in?" He asked out loud, confused.

"Yes, you give us hope. You showed the Imperium that eventhough you are a weak specie compared to us, you are determined to fight against all odds and prove the DigiWorld that you will not go down without a fight." She explained with a warm smile. "Eversince we heard of the Imperium's defeat at Dawnstar Hill, hundreds upon hundreds of Digimon started to rebel against the Imperium's tyranical rule. Rebellions were created, Alliances were formed. Hope is found thanks to one thing that humans have that makes them powerful: determination. A will to fight back and to help others."

"There is no need to regard us as heroes, we're just our job and duty as Marines, ma'am."

Babamon let a soft chuckle, "Oh you humans and your modesties, generous as always."

He was about to thank her for her welcomed hospitality when all of the sudden, his radio buzzed abruptly to life.

" _Staff Sergeant! We've got possible hostiles at the gates. 400 meters, more than two dozens of them."_ Reported Corporal Peter Carrie urgently.

"Get the Marines to the palisades and those 50s up and loaded!" He ordered sternly while running through the field.

Elecmon and Swanmon ran to Babamon, awaiting for her instructions.

"Get them to the exploration cave and protect them there. Wargreymon and I will handle the rest."

The Marines took firing positions at the palisades' battlements while the main gates were open give the vehicles a clear line of sight. Ahead of them was a large group of various digimon, mostly Beast-type or Insect-type Digimon. Leading the group of mercenaries was a BanchoStingmon, looking at the soon to be battlefield with confidence.

"I see that the miserable Primary Village has hired some humans as its bodyguards. Too bad that they didn't have the entire human military protecting them." He said confidently with a smug smile. "This will be an easy battle."

"To the leader of this mercenary group." Marcus started to speak through a handheld megaphone. "You are advised to leave this place at once. This is the Primary Village and thus by the Sovereign Rules of Combat, this village is entirely neutral and should not be harmed or attacked. If you oppose to these rules, then you will suffer severe consequences from your deities." He warned at them, hoping they will turn back.

However, BanchStingmon simply laughed before he replied back with a mocking tone.

"The Sovereigners, Royal Knights and Archangels can kiss my ass all they want!" His mercenaries chuckled in response.

"Then let them face Hell." Marcus whispered. "Get ready, Marines! Show these fuckers who they're messing with!" He encouraged them loudly.

"OORAH!" They shouted in replied.

The leader of the mercenaries signalled his troops to charge in. Both Browning .50 cals of the lead M-ATV and RG-33 MRAP, along with the Mk 19 grenade launcher of the second M-ATV, opened fire, chewing up already a quarter of the mercenary force. The infantry opened fire at the two Mothmon who tried to fire back.

"Multiple Blaster!" They shouted before firing bullets of scales form their gatling guns at the palisades to suppress the Marines.

Clive managed to dive down just as the bullets whizzed over his head.

"Brave Shield!"

Wargreymon used his shield to deflect most of the incoming bullets for the Marines to retaliate. Several Marines thanked him gratefully before returning fire, killing the two flying digimon.

"Let 'em have it boys!" Marcus shouted high enough to be heard through the constant barrages of barking guns.

"Oh fuck! Staff Sergeant!" Bravo's fireteam leader, Corporal Tom Brown called him urgently, "We're gonna need the SMAW now!" He pointed out.

Looking over the battlements, Marcus, and soon the entire squad, watches with shock as a giant, heavily armoured rhinoceros beetle charching straight for them. The NATO 7.62mm and 12.7mm did nothing on its hard shell body, the powerful rounds bouncing off like airsoft pellets.

"Shit! Charlie, Albert, get the SMAWs now!" The squad leader ordered, the two mentionned quickly took their multi-purpose rocket launcher, loading the HEAA munition. "Take that fucking beetle out! The rest of you, SUPPRESSIVE FIRE!"

While the squad concentrated their fire on the armoured digimon, LCpl. Charlie Bowman stood up and aimed at the charging target. "Back blast clear! Firing!"

On the pull of the trigger, the battlement shook violently, covering the Marines in wood dust as the launcher shot out its anti-armour rocket. The high explosive munition travelled across the field at high speeds before connecting at one of RhinoKabuterimon's front legs. The rocket had enough penetrating force to pierced its hard shells and blowing it in chunks along with the flesh. The explosion was a bloody mess as bits of flesh and bone flew out of its body with a large shower of blood spewing outward. The explosive force was enough to push it backwards and onto its sides. Rolling and releasing a roar of agony made the entire merc force stop in their tracks and stare at it with pale faces, this was one of the toughest in the group; morale began to drop amongst the group.

RhinoKabuterimon rolled to its right and tried to get back up, only to be stopped immediately by a second rocket, this time hitting straight through its massive horn, its head blown off in a spectacle of fleshy gore. From their positions, the Marines roared in victory at the show.

"Yeah! We got that motherfucker!"

"Eat shit you sons of bitches! Fuck yeah!"

At this sight, the Marines rejoiced their small victory and were now pumped for more, in other words, they got angrier and wanted more blood. As for the mercenaries, they were equally pissed, determined to avenge their fallen brothers. Seeing one of his best mercenary killed in front of him, BanchoStingmon furiously snarled before calling GeoGreymon. He then jumped in the air and gracefully landed of the massive dinosaur's hunched back.

"Charge! Make them pay!" He ordered furiously. The GeoGreymon let out a primal roar before charging into the fray.

"Oh fuck! Here comes a second one!" Shouted Cpl. Tom as he reloads his M4A1.

Charlie loaded a HEDP rocket in the tube and lifted the launcher over his right shoulder. Taking aim, he pulled the trigger, the launcher violently jerked upward for two seconds before he manages to balance his footings.

The third rocket soared through battlefield, leaving a thick trace of smoke behind. The high explosive munition hit GeoGreymon on his right shoulder, blowing the flesh and bones apart while hot shrapnels pierced his thick scales, causing severe damage to his organs and internal bleeding. As the greymon-specie digimon falls to his final moments, BanchStingmon leapt in the air before he was hit. The ultimate-level Digimon launched several bug-shaped mines at the palisades before landing with a front roll.

The mines got stuck on the gates and some parts of the tall wooden walls. The charges started to beep rapidly as the countdown went on. Nick was the one that had spotted them, and he wasn't thrilled about that.

"Holy fuck! Everyone get out!" He shouted at the top his lungs, "IED!" He warned, using the wrong terminology since he was used to the IEDs in Syria and Afghanistan.

The IED sent dread and chills down the Marines, most of them either witnessed or experienced its deadly presence back on Earth. Everyone instanly jumped out and ran away as far as their feet can take them. Unfortunately, time wasn't their ally in this case. The mines detonated, the palisades erupted to pieces. The gates blown inward, sending shards of wood and a violent shockwave. The RG-33 took the brunt of the gates' shockwave. PFC. John Woodrick, the gunner, shielded his face with his arms raised in front. Soon after a cloud of dust envelopped the area. The force of the explosion was enough knock him down in the armoured vehicle.

"Christ, are you okay man?" The driver, Pvt. Adam Griffin, asked worringly while he prepares his M4A1 carbine.

In response, the two-year veteran lifted a thumb-up as he groggingly sat up. The vehicle front windows were completely shattered, the bulletproof materials were busted beyond repairs.

"Come on, we need to get the fuck outta here." He suggested to the rookie.

With the walls and gates destroyed, the mercenaries rushed forward, the Marines were a bit disoriented but they managed to re-group. Though one problem came up for them, they were now in the open, where the enemies would face them in any minute in a close-quarter battle. Marcus ordered the vehicles to pull back while providing cover fire as the infantry falls back to one of the small woods in the field. From there, they should get some decent cover and some distance to fire.

In positions behind the trees and thick bushes, the Marines awaited for the mercenaries. The first merc in, an Etemon, was immediately destroyed by the Browning machine gun, his life ended in a pool of blood and flesh. Coming out of the dust cloud was a small pack of Dobermon charging at the Marines. The combined firepower of the M240B and M249 SAW of Fireteam Alpha and Fireteam Bravo, respectively, gunned down the pack to one in seconds. The survivor of the pack leapt at the nearest Marine, maws wide open.

Marcus shot at the Dobermon's head, killing it with one bullet before a Grizzlymon jumped on him and pinned him on the ground. Just as the digimon was about to bite his face off, he used his M4A1 rifle to block the beast's jaws and took out his combat knife to stab its left eye. The digimon let go off him and growled ferociously as it tries to crunched the rifle in its powerful maws. Marcus drew out his M9 pistol and some Marines opened fire at the massive bear. Once dead, he grabbed his rifle on the ground, he noticed the barrel was bent inward and the buttstock broken in half. Not to mention it was also covered in thick layers of saliva and blood.

"Volcano Strike!" A large ball of volcanic fire hurled straight at Fireteam Charlie.

"Scatter!" Yelled Turner, team leader of Fireteam Charlie.

Training kicked in as they all jumped out of harm's way, resulting in the ball of fire set a tree on fire. The Monochromon used the distraction to charge toward the human soldiers. When it was within a few meters to impale Bruce, an orange flash sailed pass him before the sickening sound of flesh being ripped apart filled his ears. Turning around, he saw Wargreymon standing right next to the dying Monochromon, three large, deep gashes across its entire right side, crimson blood flooded out of the gaping wounds. Wargreymon swept his right Dramon Killer in the air, cleaning some of the blood that coated his weapon. The veteran warrior looked over his left shoulder.

"Are you okay, Marine?" He asked in his deep voice, but it was also a sincere concern.

"Y-yeah, thanks to you, man." Bruce replied, still astonished by the digimon's speed and effectiveness.

Shadramon, one of the mercenaries, used his psychic wave attack to push out three Marines off his way before he twisted his body into a screw-like tornado and launched himself at a M-ATV. His attack was soon disrupted by the combined attacks of Agumon and Gabumon.

"Pepper Breath!"

"Blue Blaster!"

The two rookie attacks did enough damage to disorient Shadramon. PFC. Jack Ausburn, the HMG gunner, spotted the digimon and quickly turned the machine gun and aimed at him. He fired a burst of 12.7mm rounds, resulting in Shadramon peppered and his head blown off in a bloody mess.

"Sorry kids!" He apologised as the two rookies watched the scene with horror.

"Carrie! Call in reinforcements now!" Demanded Marcus after he ordered fireteam Bravo to fall back to a green field as a second defensive line.

He planned to derive the enemy assault so that the fighting would not harm the Digi-Eggs and the baby digimon. Unbeknownst to them, a Drimogemon along with a Prairiemon were digging underground to bypass the Marines' position to hopefully attack them by surprise from behind. After some quick digging, they decided to dig upwards and attack. However they somehow end up in a small comfortable house. They looked around in confusion.

"Did we maybe missed them by a few meters?" Asked Prairiemon.

"I don't know. I don't recognise this place on the map." Replied Drimogemon.

They then heard a foot tapping angrily behind them. They slowly turned around and paled upon seeing Babamon glaring at them, a glare that could even make a Mega level digimon shrink in fear. And the worst part for them was that they knew her when they were mere toddlers, and Babamon has a good memory.

"PRAIRIEMON! DRIMOGEMON!" She yelled furiously before she started to beat them up with her feared broom.

"SOMEONE TAKE OUT THAT FUCKING MONKEY SHIT!" Shouted Marcus, pointing at the Gorillamon who was blasting their cover away.

Wargreymon, Agumon and Gabumon were with Fireteam Alpha, pinned down aswell by the constant attack of a group Mothmon. The M-ATV's gunner got shot to the chest and fell in the vehicle, clutching his wound while calling for a corpsman. Agumon and Gabumon provided some cover fire while using Wargreymon's Braveshield as cover as the Marines extracted PFC. Ausburn out and tended to his wound. Wargreymon was trying to find a way to get close to the Gorillamon and take him out.

"Someone needs to draw the butterflies' fire out of our way!" LCpl. Buck suggested.

"I can draw out their fire but I need them out so I could take out Gorillamon." Proposed Wargreymon to the Marines. "I need someone to distract him." He added.

Agumon and Gabumon raised their hands to volunteer. "We have a plan dad!" They said confidently.

Wargreymon was about to protest but LCpl. Buck stopped him. "Any ideas would be helpful."

"Here it goes: Dad will draw out their fire with his Braveshield while charging at the monkey. Meanwhile, with the Mothmon are distracted, you guys can open fire and take them out. Gabumon and I will distract Gorillamon at the same time." Proposed Agumon.

The Marines seemed to agree with the plan and readied themselves for the signal. Wargreymon, however was very concerned about the safety of his two sons.

"Agumon, Gabumon. I can't just let you go. It's dangerous! Let the veterans handle this." He tried to reason with them.

"Dad, we can't just be sitting ducks while these humans die and the lives of many digimon are at stake!" Agumon countered, determined to help the Marines and save Primary Village.

"Yeah, Dad. This will be our chance to prove you that we can handle ourselves and we can be as strong as you just like in your stories." Added Gabumon with the same determination as his brother.

Knowing that time running out, Wargreymon reluctantly accepted to follow his sons' plan. He took deep breath before he ran out of cover and into the open with his Braveshield covering his head. The Mothmon seemed to be distracted by the big target and opened fire, neglecting the fact that the humans now have a window to fire back. With another Marine operating the Browning MG, the insect digimon were quickly dispatched.

Meanwhile, Agumon and Gabumon were firing small attacks while running around Gorillamon, who returned fire with an irritated growl. With him now distracted, Wargreymon ran at full speed towards his target, his Dramon Killers ready to strike a moment's notice. He cut Gorillamon's Energy Cannon arm and plunged the other Dramon Killer straight to the chest, the blades sticking out on the otherside of the body.

Agumon and Gabumon, upon witnessing their father taking the opponent down, cheered at him. Their cheering stopped once they saw BanchoStingmon diving straight at them. Wargreymon turned around and his eyes widened in shock and horror as he sees BanchoStingmon about the strike down his two sons. Filled with rage, he sprinted at full speed to save his loved ones, only to be rammed by a Kuwagamon across the field.

Time seemed to slow down as Agumon and Gabumon waited in regret and sorrow for their inevitable end. Just as they were about to be struck down, someone pushed them out of the way, making the leader of the mercenary group hit the ground. With surprise, the two rookies looked up and saw that a Marine saved them just in time.

Nick then give a powerful quick at the Mega-level digimon to the head and plunged his bayonet to the throat. The digimon swiftly grabbed it by the blade, stopping it from entering his throat which was mere inches away. The digimon then kicked the rifle out of his grasp and proceeded to headbutt the human. The strike was powerful enough to crack the helmet open, drawing out blood from his forehead.

"Fucking pests!" BanchoStingmon kicked the human's gut, making him rolled to his back.

Suddenly, the mercenary leader shielded himself with his arms as Fireteam Alpha advances on him, the volume of fire was enough to suppress him. To fight back, the digimon shot back mines at the team. Agumon and Gabumon ran away as fast as they can from this short period of distraction.

At the corner of his eyes, BanchoStingmon spotted running away. He laughed maniacally as he prepares his drill arms to finish the two rookies. Nick jumped on his back, his left arm around his neck while his right hand readied his combat knife. He lunged the blade at the throat. He repeated to stab the digimon in several areas as he struggles to stay on him. Eventually, BanchoStingmon launched his head behind, hitting the Marine on the nose, breaking it. The Marine's grasps on him loosened and fell on the ground while clasping his nose in intense pain.

"And stay DEAD!" The digimon shouted angrily while he plunges his two drill arms in his chest.

Nick's eyes shot wide open as he feels the two metallic drills piercing his plate carrier, bones and flesh. Blood poured out of his mouth, his vision blurred and his senses hazy. Satisfied BanchoStingmon draws out the two blades and spat out a large amount of blood. He sensed the two rookies still behind him, shaking with fear. With a crazed smile, he spun around slowly walks towards them, his throat profusely bled out, staining his already red armour a deeper shade of red.

"Don't worry kids," He started before he spat more blood, "This will be painless and quick-"

Those were his final words as three large blades protuded out of his chest from behind.

"But this won't" Wargreymon retorted grimly.

BanchoStingmon let one final hysterical laughter before fading into data. Wargreymon ran up to his two sons and hugged them dearly. The two rookies returned the hug happily and were relieved that they were still alive. However they were saddened when they saw their savior slowly bleeding to death. The Marines huddled around the corpsman, trying his best to stop the bleeding.

Dan knelt down and held Nick's right hand firmly. Tears were already falling down as he watches his best friend dying. Nick simply stayed silent before life was drained out of his eyes. His squadmates took off their helmets and hung their heads in a minute of silence. Joining them were Agumon, Gabumon and Wargreymon, the veteran digimon chanting a small prayer to the deceased.

The Marines were waiting patiently for their evacuation to come and get them. Babamon introduced them Prairiemon and Drimogemon, all beaten up, and handed them to the Marines for interrogation.

Half an hour later, two Osprey aircrafts arrived at the village, gathering the wounded and the Marines with the two prisonners. As the aircrafts departed back to base, the inhabitants of Primary Village cheered and waved the Marines goodbye. Marcus's squad waved back at the crowd.

As the Ospreys flew above the scenery, Marcus took off his helmet and rested his head against his seat, letting a sorrow sigh. He had lost three Marines during the battle and he knew deep down that he'll get more casualties once the IDDF decides to mount another massive assault against the Imperium. Observing each man, he could see through their stoic and stunned faces sadness and anger; he felt the same way. Without knowing, his hands clenched into fists, before he re-opens them slowly, there was no use for him to keep blaming the Digital World as the cause of these deaths, they all volunteered to go in here and defend their home. This is price to pay to defend one's home. Without sacrifices, Earth would surely fall in an evil that much worst than death.


	25. Chapter 24

Chapter 24:

The Fewer, the Prouder

 _January 29th 2018, Castle Albion._

The Recon Marines of 1st Lieutenant Colbert were gathered in the war room for a briefing mission several hours after interrogating the mercenaries known as Prairiemon and Drimogemon.

All 26 Marines were present for the briefing, including Renamon and her spotter/friend Gary 'Roach' Sanderson. Like her human counterparts, Renamon had a notepad to write down some details about their mission.

"Once we've dealt with the base, we will rendez-vous to the extraction here by the riverside," He said while pointing at the projector displayed map, "From there Special Boat Team 22 will extract us in 5 mikes." He then turns to his platoon, "If everything goes according to plan, JASDF will bomb the area to the ground and hopefully it will be enough of a message to the mercs. Any questions?" The Marines sat in silence, "Very well, we will depart at 0200 hours tomorrow, Oorah?"

"Oorah!"

After the mission brief, Renamon and Roach decided to pass some time at the target practice range. With the battles frequently fought from close to mid ranges, Renamon decided to dedicate more time to practice with her secondary weapon, a M4A1 rifle loaded with NATO 5.56mm FMJ rounds, since her skills with a DMR and Sniper rifle has proven to her fellow Marines that she was the best sniper in the platoon, maybe even the whole company.

"So, uh, I've been wondering about something." Started Roach while they fired a couple of shots.

"Go on." Renamon responded.

"Did you and Guilmon ever, you know, did the 'thing'?"Roach asked with embarrasement.

"You mean 'sex'." She bluntly guessed.

"Y-yeah..."

"Digimon don't have any genitals to reproduce with their mates." Renamon answered neutrally.

"Then what about that box of condoms the Captain gave you guys at Christmas?" Roach asked confusely as he sets down his rifle on the table behind him.

"Either Stephen was joking or he didn't know that Digimon don't mate like the way you do." She shrugged to emphasize her guess.

"Then what do you do when you are alone with him?" Roach asked, now curious about his friend's private life.

"What made you so curious about my life?" Renamon teased with an amused smile as she too sets her rifle on the table to continue their conversation.

"I'm just curious about Digimon. My nephew plays the card game and the video games, and he also watches the anime. So that got me curious since he knows so much about you guys." He explained before rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly as he added. "And I also think Digimon are cooler than Pokemon, so this is kinda living the dream, you know."

"That is sweet of you. But I understand." She replied with a small smile before she inserts bullets in her empty magazines.

"So you're not weirded out or something like that."

"Why should I? We're partners and you're my closest friend I've got here."

Gary felt his cheeks heat up from embarrasement but was relieved and felt proud and happy that she considers him as a friend and not just a spotter.

"And to answer your previous question: we simply like to kiss or cuddle, just like any ordinary couples." She added with a chuckle. "However..."

 _January 30th 2018, Harmony Forest, 11 000 meters above objective "Mama Charlie"._

Inside the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, Colbert and his Recon Marines were sitting in silence with their parachutes and combat gear on, waiting patiently for the signal to jump. Renamon inspected her M4A1 rifle before Roach tapped her left shoulder and spoke up.

"Do you have any Tic-Tac left?"

She searched through her back pocket and handed to him the small packet of mints.

"Thanks, Renamon!" He said gratefully before gobling some hard mints in his mouth.

Renamon giggled at the childish display, reminding her some of Guilmon's immature personality. She reminiscent of all the moments Guilmon and her spent their time together, from being best of friends to a couple. They changed a lot during those two years of friendship before the Battle of Tokyo. Her thoughts then snapped back to reality as the bright lights turned a dark shade of red, signaling the Marines to prepare for the jump.

With hand signals, Colbert gestured his Marines to stand up and ready themselves for the jump. They waited silently for several long seconds before the lights finally turned green. Colbert signaled them to jump out. The Marines ran towards the dark sky and jumped out of the aircraft. Through her goggles, Renamon looked around her as she was free falling at high altitude. Her calm breathing could be heard through the rebreather designed to fit her muzzle. Though she didn't go in many airdrop missions compared to her squadmates, she doesn't feel the adrenaline rush, rather she felt relaxed, the breeze of the wind soothing her fur. She then pulled out her parachute. The cloth canopy puller her tightly upward into the air before slowly descending her into the forest.

After hitting the ground softly, Renamon quickly took the parachute and shoved it in the deployment bag gently. She took off her rebreather and goggles and puts on her special headset radio, built and designed to fit her ears comfortably. She picked her M4A1 rifle after taking her sniper rifle bag on her back. She used her enhanced hearing senses to detect and locate her other squadmates and fellow Recon Marines.

Colbert managed to link up with five Marines at the rendez-vous point and they waited patiently for the others to join up. Colbert and the others got startled once Renamon appeared behind them silently, unlike Renamon's tamer and Captain Raymond, they didn't get used to her special abilities. A few seconds later and the platoon was completed. Setting a map down and using a low intensity red light, Colbert instructed his Marines where they should position themselves.

 _Harmony Forest, Objective "Mama Charlie", 0330 hours._

Under the dark sky and the thick foliage of the trees, the Recon Marines were pratically invisible to the eyes of their enemy, which stood only a hundred meters away from them, unaware that they're going to be under attack soon.

Positioned at a higher ground overwatching the camp, Renamon and her squad were in position, their DMRs and sniper rifles ready to fire at a moment's targets were mostly Champion or lower level Digimon so a shot to the head with a 7.62x51mm round is enough to kill them.

"The crow's nest is set, over." Informed Renamon with a whisper to Colbert over the radio. _"Roger, stalkers are moving now, watch our backs."_ He replied shortly after.

On cue, the lights around the mercenary camp along with the power turned off, destroyed by Colbert's assault team. Renamon and her squad fired simultaneously, taking out the guards at the watchtowers and some on the ground. Thanks to their suppressors, the mercenaries were clueless that they had already lost half a dozen of their own in a matter of seconds.

As the sniper team takes out several more mercs, causing chaos amongst their ranks, Colbert led the assault team and infiltrated the camp, cutting down barbed wires and metal fences along the way and setting up explosives on some key infrastructures of the camp without ever being detected.

Once the explosives were set and primed, they entered in one of the entry points to the underground tunnel system of the camp, where the headquarters were located. They detonated the explosives as soon as they entered the entry point and closed the metal door behind them. With nightvision goggles on, the Marines silently stormed the headquarters, taking out all resistance with swift and deadly precision and coordination. Once the flashbangs were thrown in the rooms and popped, the Marines would storm in and quickly neutralized any threat.

Meanwhile on the surface, as the explosives detonated causing further more chaos, Renamon ordered her squad to relocate. Moving from South to East side of the camp, the sniper team repositioned themselves and resumed to take out their targets silently.

Minutes felt like hours until Colbert called Renamon and informed her to proceed to phase 2 of their operation. She puts her sniper rifle back in its bag and picked up her assault rifle. With a satifying _click_ from the inserted magazine, she, along some of her squadmates, threw smoke grenades at the mercenary camp to cover their run to the riverside to the North, where they will provide cover fire for the assualt team until Navy Seal evac team comes. They have 15 minutes before JASDF starts to bombard the camp to the ground.

"Kurtis! AT on that Tankmon!" She ordered to her heavy weapons specialist.

Cpl. Paul Kurtis took out his AT-4 rocket launcher and aimed at his target after clearing backblast. He fired the launcher, the warhead flew pass the trees and hits its mark on the head.

Renamon dodged an attack from a mercenary and returned fire, three shots to the chest. She replaced the empty magazine with a fresh one and took out two other mercenaries before she spotted Colbert and the assault team sprinting towards them in the middle of the battlefield. The mercenaries were at a disbelief that humans suddenly appeared behind and running pass them.

"Covering fire!" She ordered.

Suddenly a WereGarurumon jumped down from a tree above her and kicked the rifle out of her hands. Expecting the mercenary, she blocked a punch, grabbed the other arm and broke it in half with a powerful elbow strike. She then did a roundhouse kick, sending the commando wolf back against the tree, destroying it in half. She jumped on her opponent and sent a powerful punch to his snout, breaking his muzzle and knocking him unconscious.

As soon as she turned around, Roach tossed her assault rifle which she caught with ease.

Once the assault team linked up with the sniper team, they formed a defensive perimeter and held their grounds. From their spot, Renamon and Roach were switching turns to fire while the other was reloading and vice versa.

The firefight intensifies by the minute, Renamon was starting to worry about her squadmates as the enemy was closing in on their perimeter.

"Genocide attack!" A Megadramon shouted as it launches a barrage of missiles at them.

"Incoming!" Renamon shouted before a missile hit the tree behind her.

She was sent to the ground violently but she didn't receive any dangerous damage, unfortunately, her Marines were not as naturally resilient as her. PFC. Jamie "Pyro" was on the ground just a few meters next to her, wincing and grunting in pain after receiving the full blast. Covered in ash and peppered with shrapnels, he was bleeding out profusely. Renamon went to him and inspected his wounds.

"Corpsman! 'Holiday'! I have a man down here!" She shouted as she starts to worry about Jamie.

Sgt. William "Holiday", 3rd squad's combat corpsman, slides next to Jamie and instructed Renamon to apply a morphine shot. He gently took his helmet off and checked if he had received any serious damage to the head, fortunately no but that doesn't mean that the rest of his wounds weren't serious. The plate carrier managed to stop most sharpnels to hit any vital organs at a price to have the ceramic kevlar plate being destroyed. Renamon and the corpsman carefully applied bandages on the wounds and carried the wounded Marine to a safer spot; closer to the riverbed. More Marines were then carried over there after the initial barrage.

What felt like an eternity was soon washed over as the Recon Marines heard the engines of Mark V SpecOps crafts and SOC-Rs. It was soon followed by the high pitched whir of the GAU 17/A minigun and thundering fire of M2HB .50 cal machine gun and M240B LMGs.

The mercenaries were decimated and pinned by the sudden appearance of the sheer volume of fire, immediately turning the tides of battle.

Under friendly suppression fire, the Recon Marines carried their wounded to the river combat boats before they jumped in, welcomed by the SWCC operators, who were manning the heavy weapons.

Once the Recon Marines were loaded, the evacuation team quickly sailed away, the crew members continued to open fire until they were out of enemy sight. As they got away of hostile contact, Renamon sat on the deck of the SOC-R and let a breath of relief, the stress of combat was becoming more frequent eversince she joined Force Recon. Usually known to be cool and collective no matter the situation, Renamon felt a bit ashamed at herself to display such reaction to combat stress, considered a weakness by her species.

The JASDF started their strategic bombardment minutes later, the sound of heavy explosions was heard from far away as they reached a lake and the SWCC extraction team waited for the Chinooks to arrive. During the wait, Renamon sat cross-legged, eyes closed, meditating to calm herself down, her hands were still visibly shaking.

 _Castle Albion, 0600 hours._

Back to friendly lines and after a long needed sleep after the mission de-brief, which was deemed another victory for the IDDF with minimal casualties. Renamon, who slept with her combat gear on, took them off lazily and headed her way to the Castle's mess hall.

Marines were the first ones to fill the mess hall early in the morning. Renamon took a canteen tray, grabbed some food and drinks before sitting at a table alone. Yawning loudly, she then stirred her coffee while eating the freshly made croissant, made by the best chef in the whole region, Rhodoknightmon. Half an hour later, more Marines and some digimon of the Royal Knights' forces came in. Meanwhile, Renamon was reading one of the letters Rika wrote for her, sent before Christmas. Guilmon finally arrived and sat in front of her with a warm smile, a smile that Renamon loves to stare at everytime it showed up. They gave each other a light kiss on the cheeks before eating breakfast silently.

"How was the op?" He asked out of curiosity.

Renamon raised an eyebrow by the sudden serious question before replying non-chalantly. "The usual. Taking out a base full of bad guys and blow that base to the ground while looking cool." She answered with a sly smile.

"You guys always have the fun missions." He responded with sarcasm.

Their conversation went on, chatting happily. It was something Renamon needed after each stressful mission and luckily for her, her boyfriend was always there for her, to bring a smile and make her day better.

After their breakfast, they went on their separate ways due to the tasks given to them by their superiors. Guilmon had to prepare himself for another patrol with his squad while Renamon was called over by Colbert for a training mission.

Donning her plate carrier and picking up her assault rifle, along with Gary, she headed to the makeshift roofless house training course, built by the Royal Knights. Named simply "The House", it was a relatively large house made of plywood and cobblestone, consisting of many small rooms for CQB simulations. It was initially used by the Defense force for training in search and destroy missions but it was soon taken by the Marines due to their small size and ease to maneuver in small spaces while carrying lethal weapons. The Marines used the training prop building for hostage rescue, breach and clear tactic and CQB mock battle. The Marines, and to an extension the IDDF, praised the Royal Knights for their training grounds, equipped with high tech training equipment, automated target dummy systems, training courses and a large indoor and an outdoor facility for mock battles at any scale.

For the Recons' case, it was a hostage rescue mission. The hostages were being portrayed by other Marines while the 'enemy' where simple slabs of steel in the shape of a humanoid silhouette.

Without telling too much detail on the training course, it went well for the reconnaissance Marines. Thanks to their repeated training and to Renamon's abilities, they managed to create a new tactic to take out the enemies while saving the hostages; silently, swiftly and deadly. And like any training mission, the recon Marines always cheered and applauded Renamon, a feeling of pride and trust that she felt since she was happily welcomed to Force Recon.

As the mundane tasks kept on going until the end of day, after eating lunch with some of her squadmates and diner with Guilmon, she finally slumped down to bed. Gary was still hanging out with the others at the range, playing bets and challenges at eachother. She propped one knee up, rested her other leg on that knee while swinging it lazily. She placed her hands behind her head as she simply stares at the wooden ceiling, reminiscing her current life as a Recon Marine, from boot camp until now.

* * *

Colbert was reciting his after action report of the previous operation to Raymond and the Royal Knights in the war room.

The report was deemed a satisfaction for the Royal Knights, now that Kowloon company doesn't have any influence to harass them.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Colbert." Alphamon thanked him sincerely.

Colbert gave a firm salute in response before Alphamon spoke up to bring in the next subject of their meeting.

"I'd like to announce that Shoutmon and his forces has managed to free the Cherry Blossom Zone, which means that the White Blossom Order is ready to fight back."

"I imagine their leader of this order wants to join in the alliance." Colbert stated mildy.

"Exactly. Sakuyamon wants to formaly meet you and sign an alliance treaty." Alphamon informed.

"Uh... what is the White Blossom Order?" Raymond asked sheepishly, feeling a bit left out despite his position as an officer.

"They are the most powerful clan of the Renamon species. They are experts in stealth, oftenly operating in small but highly effective 'hit-and-run' tactics, assassinations, night raids, rescue operations," Omegamon explained formaly, "They are highly respected by the other clans since they are responsible for the Reunification campaign in the Eastern Region."

"Ah yes, I remember it like it was yesterday." Dynasmon said in a relaxed tone. "Fun times, right Dukemon?" He turns his head to the Hazard knight.

"Uh... yeah I guess..." The white knight replied uncomfortably.

"Am I missing something here?" Raymond asked to no one in particular.

"Should I?" Alphamon asked to Dukemon, who responded with a slow nod, "Sakuyamon and Dukemon had a 'special' relationship before a particular event turned things sour between them."

"Shit, sorry dude." The human said with empathy.

"Can we get this over with?" Duftmon pleaded irritatingly, "Dukemon's relationship isn't our business."

"Cold but I have to agree here." Colbert chimed in bluntly.

"When is she coming?" Asked Dukeman.

"In two days. She'll be staying here for a week because she stated that she have crucial information on the Imperials that she would like to share with the humans." Answered Omegamon.

"Now then, with all of this said, I want to once again thank Colbert and his Recon Marines for their effort at disrupting Kowloon company's influence in the continent but also for the information they've gathered during that skirmish." Alphamon faced Duftmon once again. "These intels were useful, right Duftmon?"

"More than I could've asked for." He admitted reluctantly.

"Alright, I declare this meeting over." Alphamon announced before everyone stood up from their seat.

Just as Colbert was about to leave the room, Raymond stopped him and gave him a small black box.

"I have decided to name Renamon to be your 2IC and I think you'll agree with me. She'll be honored to receive it from you personally." He explained before the two saluted.

As per usual, Gary was cleaning his weapon while Renamon was reading a book, in silence, when suddenly they heard a knock on the door. Gary went over to open it and immediately stood staightly once Colbert entered their sleeping quarters. Renamon stood up from her bed and they both saluted at their commander. Colbert casually saluted back before walking up to Renamon, presenting the black box.

"The captain and I have decided, as a reward and appreciation for your outstanding service in combat as a squad leader, to promote you to Staff Sergeant and so becoming my second-in-command." He stated proudly as he replaces the chevrons on the shoulder straps of Renamon's uniform with the new ones, signifying her new rank and role. "To be honest with you, you're one of the best Marine I've ever had the pleasure and honour to fight alongside with. Your display as an effective squad leader and sniper has inspired our Marines and we admire you for your combat skills and courage. It has been the proudest months of my life since you came in our platoon. Congratulations." He saluted her firmly with a fatherly-like smile.

Behind the lieutenant, Gary was getting giddy about his friend's promotion, extremely happy for her. As for Renamon, she was speechless, surprised and honored that her superior officer was giving her the promotion. She saluted back proudly, feeling admiration and respect to Colbert.

"I will do my best to fulfil my new role, sir." She stated.

"Of course you will, and you will not disappoint us, I am sure about it." He replied before leaving the room.

"Congrats, Staff Sergeant Renamon." Gary said before going back to cleaning his weapon.

* * *

Dukemon was leaning against one of the castle's balcony, gazing the moon absent-minded as his thoughts were flooded with doubt and guilt, something that lingered in his mind and heart since the incident with Sakuyamon. He ruffled his hair with his hands in frustration, trying to clear his mind. After long minutes of silence, Dukemon got startled as Omegamon walked up to him, joining him in his moon gazing.

"Still thinking about her?" Omegamon inquired while staring at his friend.

Dukemon let out a sigh. "Yeah, still thinking about her..."

"You should tell her." Omegamon advised calmly.

"I don't think right now is the best moment to talk about it, especially when we're basically at the height of the war now." Dukemon protested with reason.

"Meanwhile you will be clouded with more doubts and it might affect your skills." Responded the white knight. "Dukemon, I'm not asking you to win her heart back but to patch things up with her, get the guilt off of your chest. Trust me, she'll understand if you just tell her the truth."

"I know, I know..." Dukemon said after a groan. "I'll try to talk to her while she is here." He promised to Omegamon, though it was more for himself.

"You better because this might be your last chance."

"Gee, thanks for putting even more pressure on my back!" Scolded playfully the Hazard knight.

Omegamon simply shrugged. "That's what friends are for, right?" He replied sarcastically.

"Ugh, your terrible sarcasm hurts me!" Dukemon said dramatically.

The two white knights bickered jokingly for awhile before they decided to go on their separate ways.


	26. Chapter 25

Chapter 25:

The Knight and the Shaman

 _February 2nd 2018, Castle Albion._

The Royal Knights and several Marine officers were waiting at the landing platform for their guests. The group talked casually amongst themselves until they spotted a V-22 Osprey coming towards them. The hybrid aircraft gently landed on the platform and its rear hatch opened slowly. Coming out of the aircraft were several armed special forces operatives along with four Taomon bodyguards and the two awaited guests: Sakuyamon and ambassador Yamaki.

The SFG operatives escorted Sakuyamon and Yamaki, much to the Taomon's protest and reluctance. At the presence of the leader and founder of the White Blossom Order, the Royal Knights and Staff Sergeant Renamon bowed to show respect while the humans saluted. Sakuyamon seemed happy to see her old friends after some years of separation caused by the war. She greeted Alphamon and his knights with an excited smile, exchanging small talks and hugs, until she faced Dukemon.

Her broad smile quickly turned to a frown. Dukemon can feel his heart drop, shattering to pieces, and gulped loudly as he witnesses his ex's cold stare. He simply lend out a hand, nervously.

"H-hey, Sakuyamon, l-long time no see, right?" Dukemon tried to sound cool and collective, but it was obvious he was failling at that.

The shaman stared at him for long seconds before sighing and shaking his hand, forcing a friendly smile at him.

"You seem to never change, Dukemon." She replied blandly.

She let go of his hand and then smiled back broadly when she laid her eyes on Renamon. She put her hands on her shoulders, silently demanding the fox to rise up. She looked at her with a proud smile.

"It has been a long time since I've seen one of my best students and I can see that you've grown to a strong digimon. I'm so proud of you." She stated.

Renamon smiled back and saluted at her mother figure. This prompted Sakuyamon to giggle before she faced Raymond. The captain bowed down while taking off his cap.

"Oh my, what a gentleman." She noted loudly. She bowed down in return before shaking Raymond's hand. "It is a pleasure and honour to finally meet the man and the Marines in person."

"Same here, ma'am." Responded Raymond.

After the greetings, Alphamon, Omegamon, Sakuyamon, Yamaki and the Marine officers headed to the meeting room to discuss on the alliance and Sakuyamon's intel.

After asking for the map of the Digital World to be displayed on the oval table, Sakuyamon then demanded a scroll from one of her Taomon bodyguards. Reading through it rapidly, she points at a specific location in the Industrial sector, a region controlled by the Imperium. It is a strategic region due to its ressources and factories, capable of constructing railroads and military grade technologies. Considered to be an important region for transportation and economic state.

"Factory 119." She stated. "It had recently received an upgrade capable of producing weapons in large quantity and in a short amount of time. It is also capable of creating armour-type digimon and cloning Commandramon and Sealsdramon. One of my scouts has spotted major activity in this area." She explained with a frown. "They think that the Imperium is preparing for a major counter-attack."

"How can they be sure?" Asked Raymond.

"They have spotted multiple Locomon, GranLocomon, Blimpmon and Valvemon transporting troops and artillery pieces. They reported that the number vary in the hundreds, probably thousands." Everyone in the room was shocked.

"Of course they had to amass thousands of troops deep in their territory." Added Duftmon, pondering for a counter-measure.

"Can't we just nuke them?" Suggested Dukeman while feeling a bit uncomfortable about metionning the notion of "nuke".

"Can't. There is a city and couple of villages nearby, the blast and radiation could kill them." Informed Yamaki. "Plus, nukes are expensive to use and it'll take huge amount of time to carry one in the Digital World."

"Well speaking of WMDs, there are rumors that the Imperials are building one, using plans hacked from one of your nations, deemed the most powerful weapon in human history." Sakuyamon told them nervously.

Every human in the room paled, soon realizing what she meant by "the most powerful weapon."

"Are they seriously re-making the Tsar Bomba?!" Exclaimed Colbert.

"Uh, mind us telling what is this "Tsar Bomba"?" Asked sheepishly Dynasmon.

"It's a soviet thermonuclear weapon. It had a yield of 57 megaton TNT, it was originally built to yield 100 megaton TNT. It can destroy anything in its path in a 55 klick diameter." Explained Yamaki with dread in his voice. "And that is the result of the initial blast, you then need to add the result of radiation poisoning. And that can kill thousands decades later."

Dynasmon and most Royal Knights were at a loss of words. They couldn't believe that humans were capable of developping such a powerful weapon, no weapon in the DigiWorld could even compare to it, until now.

"So, let me guess this straight." Interrupted Raymond. "You're telling us that the Imperium is re-developping one of the most powerful weapon on Earth and they plan to use it against us, right?" Sakuyamon nodded in confirmation at his statement. "I guess that it haven't arrived at Factory 119, where the main force is, and you plan to take it out before it could reach there?"

"Exactly. Our scouts has captured some enemy personnels and interrogated them. For now, we only have a week to stop it before it reaches Factory 119." Replied Sakuyamon.

"So where is it now?" Asked Dukemon with interest which earned him a surprised look from his ex. "What? You know me, Sakuyamon. If something is about to destroy my friends and loved ones, I want it destroyed and fast."

"I'm glad you haven't lost your burning passion." Commented Sakuyamon with a small smile.

"More like reckless passion." Added Duftmon, to which the Shaman giggled.

"To answer your previous question, Dukemon, it is located in the Fog Rainforest, in the Jungle Region. A small Imperial science facility is built next to the Temple Waterfall." She answered.

"We're going to need a lot of Marines and Special forces if we're going to fight in there." Proposed Colbert after carefully examinating the area around Temple Waterfall.

"I'll contact the Lieutenant-Colonel about this, lets hope that we'll get some Navy SEALs or Delta Forces with us." Dukeman warned Raymond.

"We'll probably get Rangers for this situation." Raymond guessed.

While the Marine officers and some of the Royal Knights were debating on the probable search and destroy mission, Dukemon was ignoring everyone, instead he was staring at Sakuyamon fondly, remembering the times they were happy together. The smile she gave him everytime they see each other, the beautiful laugh she makes was music to his ears and her kind, and sometimes stern, personality was something he admired her for. He was also feeling guilt in him. Sakuyamon noticed him staring at her. She flashed him a small, genuine, smile, one that mentally said "sorry for the harsh greeting this morning". She did feel bad for giving him the cold shoulders. Dukemon happily responded with a thumb up, forgiving her.

Later that night, Dukemon was wandering aimlessly in the castle's hallways, armour off and only wearing his casual clothes. He sometimes glanced outside the windows, staring briefly at the bright moon. Heaving out a sad sigh, the knight continued his aimless wandering.

After much wandering around, he spotted his brother at the left wing balcony with Renamon, talking to each other happily, some laughters could be heard. Dukemon just stopped and stared at Guilmon with surprise and a small smile tugging on his face.

"Wow, Guilmon, didn't know you were dating Renamon." He said quietly to himself, not wanting to interrupt their lovely moment.

"Dukemon." Called a voice beside him.

Dukemon jumped in surprise, startled by Duftmon who seemed to be narrowing his eyes at him.

"Gah! Don't just sneak up on me like that!" Dukemon complained. "Karatenmon is already enough."

Duftmon rolled his eyes before handing Dukemon a piece of paper. "Here's the new password for your computer account."

"Right... thanks." He replied sheepishly after taking the paper.

"Next time, try to remember your password. That is the third time since last month." Duftmon scolded him coldly. "Seriously, you're as clueless as Dynasmon with computers." He added angrily.

"Aw, come on! At least I know how to use one." Dukemon countered. "It's just that your passwords are ridiculously long and random."

"You do know that you can change the password in the settings, right?" Duftmon asked coldly, knowing that Dukemon didn't even thought about it.

"I...I... crap this is embarrassing." Dukemon face-palmed, realizing the stupidity he was displaying in front of Duftmon. _"At least it's not in front of Sakuyamon..."_ He thought hopefully.

"I've got to agree with you, this is embarrassing for you." Commented Sakuyamon right behind him with amusement.

" _DAMN IT!"_ The internal scream echoed deep in his mind and soul.

"Duftmon, can I burrow you Dukemon for awhile?" Asked softly Sakuyamon.

"Go ahead. I'm going to get a headache if he continues his nonsence." Responded Duftmon nonchalantly.

Dukemon was about to punch Duftmon, only to be stopped by Sakuyamon who was dragging him away from the tactician.

After being dragged around the castle for several minutes, Sakuyamon finally led him outside, to the ramparts of the castle's wall. She lets go of him, prompting Dukemon to massage his left wrist due to her strong grip.

"Glad you still have that steel grip." Dukemon groaned.

He looked back at the shaman and felt his jaws dropped. He just noticed that Sakuyamon wasn't in her usual combat attire, instead she was wearing a white and red miko robe, the white colour covered her upper body while the red colour covered the lower body. She is also not wearing her fox mask, revealing Dukemon her light pale white face with dark purple markings on both of her cheeks, her purple glossed lips and her icy blue eyes. Her long white hair swaying to the wind gracefully behind her head. Dukemon could feel his face heat up as his heart beat at a rapid pace.

"What are you gawking at me for?" Asked Sakuyamon with a bit of annoyance in her voice.

Dukemon shook his head. "Nothing. It's just that your beauty hasn't change, still as perfect as ever." He said nervously.

"Flattery won't get anywhere near me, Dukemon." She responded coldly with a frown.

" _O-ouch..."_ He thought to himself. "Sorry..." He meekly said.

"Omegamon told me that you wanted to tell me something."

" _OMEGAMON!"_ He internally scolded, making a mental note to have a "talk" with the white knight.

"Well here goes nothing..." He decided to finally tell the truth. "Sakuyamon, I...I w-wanted to say I'm sorry-"

"Dukemon, for the last time, sorry isn't going to cut it, not after what you've done to me and my own kind." She interrupted him, pinching her nose bridge out of frustration. "You're wasting your time..."

"But-" Dukemon tried to spoke up but got interrupted once again.

"There are no "buts", Dukemon! You abandonned my kind in chaos when they needed you!"

"Let-"

"You've set my village ablaze!" Sakuyamon's voice turned aggressive. "You forgot our anniversary!"

"I-"

"And more importantly: YOU ABANDONNED ME!" She shouted angrily at him.

"WOULD YOU LET ME SPEAK FOR FUCK'S SAKE!" He shouted back, startling Sakuyamon.

"I got outnumbered in the village! So no shit I couldn't save them! I'm sorry that I set your village in flames but it was only thing I can think of to distract the whole damn army! I'm sorry that I couldn't be there for you but I almost lost control of my Hazard! And I haven't forgotten our anniversary, I planned to propose to you!"

Sakuyamon just remained silent, feeling guilt building up inside her.

"I had to escape, to run away like a fucking coward to protect you! I'm sorry! I'm deeply sorry! I-I wish I was smarter, better... I wish I could've saved them all."

Dukemon let his tears running down his face, the stress and guilt finally out of his chest.

"I don't want to lose you! I-if only I had more control then m-maybe this mess could have been avoided...Without you, I am nothing."

He wiped some tears away and walked back in the castle, leaving Sakuyamon in silence. The Shaman felt her knees weakening, holding onto the ramparts as support, trying to process everything in her mind, regretting all those years of cold absence.

Dukemon headed towards his sleeping quarter, trying to stifle some sobs along the way. Ahead of him was Omegamon who was staring at him with concern.

"Dukemon, are you-" Suddenly Dukemon punched him on the face.

The Omega knight could feel his nose bleeding. Then he felt Dukemon lifting him up by his t-shirt collar. Dukemon had red shot eyes and a very pissed attitude.

"Next time you pull some shit like: I'll brake one of your arms!" He warned him aggressively.

"What are you even talking about!?" He asked while raising his tone, confused and angry that Dukemon, his best friend, would just punch him out of the blue.

"I know you told Sakuyamon to talk to me!" Answered Dukemon after releasing him on the floor.

"What?! I hadn't even seen her after the meeting! I was with Duftmon and Alphamon. Remember?!" Omegamon stood back up and dusted himself off.

Dukemon's eyes widened, realizing his immense error. Being caught up and confused in his thoughts, he ran away from Omegamon, seeking refuge and isolation in his room. Locking up the door, he sat on his bed and rested his head on his palms, sobbing quietly.

"I'm so fucking dumb..."

There have been a few attempts from Omegamon to talk to him but Dukemon ignored him, deciding to escape reality for a bit to dreamland.

* * *

 _February 3_ _rd_ _2018, Castle Albion._

Dukemon woke up abruptly from the loud and strong knocks coming from his door. He goggrily sat up on his bed, until he heard Alphamon's voice from the other side.

"Dukemon? Is everything alright? You've been sleeping all morning."

The Hazard knight swore under his breath as he hastilly put some decent clothes on. He ran to the door and opened it, forcing a smile. Greeting him were Alphamon, Omegamon and Raymond, all in combat gear.

"Jesus Christ, Dukemon, you look like shit." Commented Raymond with worry.

"Dukemon, what's going on with you? Get your armour on, we're waiting for you in the war room." Instructed Alphamon. "You have ten minutes." He added sternly.

Once the Royal Knights and their Captains were present in the war room, Raymond started the meeting with an announcement.

"I have confirmation from my higher-ups that "Operation Outbreak" is a go. We will get support from Bravo and Charlie company, along with the Army's 101st Airborne Division, the 75th Ranger Regiment and JGSDF SFG." He then frowned as he reads out the rest of his notes. "However, because of the presence of a WMD, air and ground support is out of the question. Which means we'll have to retrieve the weapon the hard way. Explosives are limited. Little birds and Venoms will be our only form of air support."

"Looks like we have to hit them with speed and precision." Stated Ouryuumon. "Blitzkrieg tactic is our only option here."

"I agree." Alphamon said. "We cannot leave any room for mistakes for this mission. One wrong move might cause the lost of the entire region in a second."

"Our troops will be airlifted." Explained Raymond. "The Marines will occupy the village Bravo and Charlie, distracting most of their forces. Airborne troops will cut off the main route from point Alpha and point Delta." He demonstrated to the digimon the locations on the digital map. "This leaves Special forces to escort the bomb from the sanctuary. We're going to need strong built airborne digimon."

"I guess Examon can help us with this." Suggested Sleipmon.

"Correct. However he is a big target." Pointed out Colbert. "One shot to the bomb and he'll blow with it."

"We need volunteers to cover Examon as he extracts the bomb." Proposed Omegamon.

Though silent from the beginning of the meeting, Dukemon raised his hand behind the crowd.

"I'll like to volunteer." He simply said.

"Me too." Added UlforceVeedramon.

Alphamon gave them a nod of confirmation before he turned to Duftmon. "Think you can come up with a plan?"

"Already did." He replied. "How long can your forces be ready for the mission?" He asked Raymond.

"Two days."

"Ouryuumon, I want you to nominate three squadrons from the Aerial Strike Force. They will assist the extraction team at picking off the Imperials."

"I'll get the fastest and the strongest." Replied Ouryuumon with a stern face.

"Good. Speed is key. Dynasmon and Magnamon, you'll be assigned with the Marines. Rhodoknightmon and Craniamon with the airborne troops. Omegamon, Sleipmon and I will be with the extraction team. Finally Alphamon and Sakuyamon will take care of the facility with the Recon Marines." Everyone nodded in confirmation, ready for the upcoming operation.

Dukemon was in the castle's training gym to pass some time. Swiftly and fiercely throwing strikes at the punching bag, the other occupants of the gym stared at him in awe. Marines were gathered around him, observing him. They were impressed by the sheer force Dukemon was sending to the leather bag. Suddenly, Dukemon sent a punch particularly more powerful than the usuals and sent the bag to the other side of the gym, hitting the wall violently with a loud _'thump'_ on impact. It left a small crack on the white wall. The humans stared between the knight and the small crack, they cheered ecstatically.

Dukemon simply ignored them and grabbed another punching bag, hanging it on a small hook on the ceiling and proceeded his series of fury filled strikes.

Omegamon entered the gym, greeted by the loud music the humans were playing on their stereos. He walked pass the various digimon and humans until he found Dukemon, still unleashing a flurry of strong hits and kicks. He walked up to him, standing at a safe distance in case the punching bag flies off again.

"Dukemon." He called him loudly.

The Hazard knight stopped dead in his actions and looked at Omegamon, breathing heavily.

"Yeah?" He asked calmly, trying to hide the guilt in his voice.

"With me. Now." The white knight ordered with an authoritative tone.

Dukemon took a towel from his sport bag and wiped some sweat off his face before carrying the bag and followed Omegamon hesitantly. Once out of the gym, the two knights continued to walk in a tense silence. After cluelessly following Omegamon, they arrived at Alphamon's office, where Alphamon, Ouryuumon, Leftenant Paildramon, and Sakuyamon and her bodyguards were discussing about the operation.

"Ah, Dukemon, glad you can- Oh my..." Alphamon was caught off guard, his eyes went wide open.

Dukemon then realized that he was only wearing his shorts, revealing his bare naked muscular torso, brawn shoulders and firm arms, still covered in sweat due to the intense training. Alphamon stuttered a little bit, however for the others, they were blushing madly, especially Sakuyamon. It also seems that one of the Taomon and Paildramon were having a nose bleed. As for Ouryuumon, he seems to enjoy the view.

"Hehe... sorry for not wearing something appropriate for the occasion." He apologized sheepishly.

"Well I guess Omegamon should have warned you." Alphamon eyed the metionned digimon with suspicion. "Anyways, Sakuyamon, Ouryuumon and Paildramon, would you mind leave us alone for a moment." He kindly asked. "I need to solve some "internal affair" between my knights."

Everyone complied, silently leaving the office. Dukemon was alone with Omegamon and Alphamon. The black knight coughed lightly before speaking to Dukemon.

"I'm quite worried for you, Dukemon. Recently, you've been quite agitated and emotional."

Dukemon simply hung his head in shame and regret.

"You told the truth, that I am glad to hear. But then you punched Omegamon for no reason."

"I'm sorry." The Crimson knight sadly apologized.

"Don't say sorry to me, that's Omegamon you should own an apology." Alphamon corrected him firmly.

Dukemon looked up, staring deeply at Omegamon's clear blue eyes. "I'm deeply sorry, Omegamon, for hitting you in the face. I-I just lost a nerve back there and you didn't deserve it." He told him sincerely.

"Apology accepted, friend." Omegamon replied cooly, though he seems to blush in embarrassement behind his helmet.

"With that out of the way, Dukemon, can I trust you that you'll be mentally strong for the mission? I know for a fact you are blowing some steam off at the gym." Dukemon nodded in response, feeling a bit relaxed now that the affair was sorted. "Alright then, you two can leave."

The two knights nodded and left the office silently. They stood outside for several seconds throwing a glance at each other.

"Want to grab something to eat?" Asked shyly Omegamon.

"S-sure. But I need to take a shower and get a change." Replied Dukemon stoically. "I'll meet you at the mess hall."

"Right."

They both hesitantly went on their separate ways. After a much needed shower and armour on, Dukemon joined up with Omegamon in the mess hall, where the white knight was eating his meal at a slow pace, waiting for him. He placed down his food tray and sat facing Omegamon. At first, they were simply eating their meals in silence until that silence turned into a couple of giggles to chuckles and then to a hearty laughter. The awkward silence wasn't something they're used to, they usually talk for hours with no end in sight, presence of one another was welcoming.

To those who didn't know them, Dukemon and Omegamon had been friends years before the Order was even founded. Their long time friendship was a sign that no matter what, they would stay friends until death set them apart.

* * *

 **Author's note: Bonjour tout le monde! Long time since I've done this but anyway this is more of a disclaimer. As some of you may notice(or not), certain names and some of the Royal Knights' personality are quite similar to those of another author: Griff4823. Well that is because they are the same, not at a 100% copy** **-paste, I try my best to deviate a little bit. The reason why is because I'm lazy(of course...) and because I actually love this author's writing of the Royal Knights. I respect and admire him and his works. This story wouldn't have existed without his stories that inspired me to write. That is why I HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend you read his stories, they are the best! It is professionally well written, I wish it was canon, heck I wish there is an anime adaptation. Yes, it is that well written. So yeah, read his awesome stories instead of this French made _poubelle_. Until next week! :) _(P.S: He also wrote one lewd story between AncientGarurumon and KaiserGreymon; I now ship them so hard :D)_**


	27. Chapter 26

Chapter 26:

Weapon of Mass Destruction

 _February 5th 2018, Fog Rainforest, Jungle Region._

So far, Operation Outbreak was going accordingly. U.S. Paratroopers of 1st Battalion of the 101st Airborne Division managed to capture and hold objective points Alpha and Delta. It was the main road of the local area. The dirt road started from Train Station Tau, located a few kilometers outside the rainforest. It circled around two large hills, designated Hill 1 and Hill 2, which were covered in a dense forest; while traversing two villages, named point Bravo and point Charlie. It traversed more forest then closely to the edge of a shallow lake where Temple Waterfall was built, before finally returning back to the other train station. Behind the small village "Bravo" was a large hill covered in various foliages and rocks. Near the villages, located in the south, was the Imperial research facility.

Temple Waterfall, located to the north, was an abandonned sanctuary of a forgotten religion in a forgotten time, built deep at the side of a mountain, right underneath a lush waterfall, hence its name. The temple was covered in thick moss, cracks and overgrowing plants. The temple was a rectangular settlement built on a two step support system with cobblestone stairs built at each face of the temple. Holes were dug below the walls to let the overflowing water out and into the shallow lake. The central area was reserved for the waterfall, the temple built around it. At the back of the sanctuary, carved onto the mountain was a large statue of an unknown digimon due to it been nearly destroyed.

At the heart of the local area were the two small villages or named "Ghost town" later by the Marines. It was simply consisted of a handful of wooden huts. The ghost town is covered by the dense forest and large hills to the west and to the east. To the east, between the two hills was a natural tunnel that led to objective point Delta.

Alpha company of the Digital Marines were deployed to the east part of the town, where they were immediately met by heavy enemy fire from the west. Rushing to village "Charlie", Marines quickly took cover in the huts while others stayed behind in the forest, laying down cover fire for the rest of the company.

Raymond slid towards a small stone wall, barely avoiding the projectiles flying above him. Two other Marines got shot behind him, one was killed while the other crawled back into the hut behind him. Peeking through a hole on the wall, Raymond tried to locate the enemy machine gun nest. On top of hill 3, a wooden hut had bright red flashes coming from its window.

"DD! I want helos gunning that hut on top of hill 3!" He demanded loud enough for the radio operator to hear him in the hut.

Darrack gave him a quick thumb up in response and called air support, giving them the location of their target. An AH-6 Little bird hovered above the ghost town, rotating to the hut on the hill. Its twin M134 Minigun gave out a distinct electrical _'whir'_ before unleashing 7.62mm rounds at high rate, obliterating the hut to pieces and its occupants in data.

The small attack helicopter then spun to the left, firing its rotary machine guns at the legionaires below in the village. Around that time, the Marines of Bravo company finally arrived, rappeling down on the main road before rushing to objective point Bravo. With point Charlie secured, Alpha company joined up with Bravo in taking the second half of the town.

Meanwhile for the paratroopers of Delta company, they were holding off the hostile infantry and armour from the facility and train station to reach the town. Machine gun teams were set on Hill 1, the thick bushes and solid rocks gave them good cover while having a clear overwatch position.

The Recon marines arrived shortly after the battle begun. Colbert ran up to 1st Lieutenant Pike, waiting for the lieutenant to give him the confirmation to cross the main road and to the facility.

"Can't. There's still heavy hostile armour from the facility." Pike warned him. "I'm gonna call air support." He took his radio and contacted the one of the Little birds. "To any Avengers, we've got heavy hostile armour deep within the facility. I want them out for the Recon Marines."

" _Roger Delta 1. Avenger 3 will take care of it. Just keep the infantry occupied."_ Responded a pilot.

Avenger 3 soon arrived at the scene, several bullets whizzed close by. Turning to the facility, the Little bird opened fire, rounds were spat out at 2,000 rounds per minute. The rifle cartridges easily penetrated the armour of the Tankmon and TankDramon.

" _Delta 1, armour have been wiped out. Facility is clear to go."_ Reported Avenger 3.

With that confirmation, Colbert and his Marines sprinted towards the research facility, the paratroopers laid down cover fire for them.

The research facility consisted of a complex of three multi-story buildings divided by paved road going in between them. The Recon Marines charged towards the most eastern building. Bursting through the main door, they quickly move up the stairs leading up to the second floor. At the top of the stairs, Renamon snapped her carbine at the Commandramon's head and shot it twice. With the element of surprise still with them, Gary threw a flashbang grenade over the stair, into the second floor. After the detonation, the Marines rushed in, firing at any imperial trooper they see. The sniper team continued upward, the stairs leading to the rooftop.

Once in position, Renamon and her squad opened fire at the other two buildings, one to their left and the other in front of them. Taking out the imperials on the second floors and rooftops, while the assault team took the enemy behind the facility.

" _Alphamon, this is Reaper, facility is almost secured, where the hell are you?"_ Asked Colbert hastilly.

" _We've just arrived, Reaper."_ Replied Alphamon through his LRAC.

On cue, Alphamon, Sakuyamon and some of her acolytes arrived from above, the Renamon-line digimon jumped down from the human air transport. At the same time, Rhodoknightmon and Craniamon flew down to assist the paratroopers.

"Listen up, Marines! Reinforcements have arrived, hold your grounds until the WMD is out of the region." Instructed sternly Colbert.

"End Waltz!" Craniamon spun his Claiomh Solais at high speed, causing a super sonic wave sent to the legionaires.

Dozens of Cyborg-type and Insect-type digimon were pulverized by the shock wave. The Kyubimon unit launched their "Fox Tail Inferno" attack, destroying most of the imperials' heavy support in multiple fiery blue explosions of energy.

Back in the ghost town, Charlie company arrived just in time with Dynasmon and Magnamon. The objectives Bravo and Charlie were secured, the Marines assaulted the enemy position at Hill 3.

Dukeman and Cyberdramon jumped out through the hut's window as a missile headed towards them. The wooden structure was blown to pieces, small wood planks were sent at every direction.

"You okay?!" Dukeman asked loudly, his ears were temporally rendered deaf.

"Yeah!" The digimon shouted back, he too was in the similar situation.

Guilmon and Magnamon ran up to them and helped them get on their feet. Hill 3 proved to be quite a trouble for the Marines. The legionaires were dug deep in the hill, having the higher ground and numerous machine guns allowed them to fire below them and at the hills across. Flamedramon's squad tried to flank the hill, only to be pinned by heavy enemy fire. The blue dragon dived behind a rock and barked at his squadmates for cover. Three Marines didn't reacted fast enough to jump for cover, their bodies dropped limplessly on the slopes of the hill. Flamedramon could sense that the enemy was just a couple of meters away from them, hearing them shouting above his cover.

Down on the slope was his squad, trying to return fire when an enemy machine gun team opened fire just above him. He took a frag grenade, pulled the pin out and mentally counted to three before hurling it above him. The explosion sent two Commandramon down over the rock, in front of Flamedramon. He quickly shot the two before climbing over the rock. He ran to a tree as more enemy fire hurled at him. His squad moved up, slowly making progress towards the main enemy position.

Hill 3 was slowly being overrun, the Marines attacking them on three fronts. Its flanks were completely overrun, leaving only a dozen of legionaires to fight to the last.

Using his armoured bracers as a shield, Magnamon rushed to the enemy at their left flank, leading a couple of Marines behind him. He jumped at a Sealsdramon, perfoming a drop kick on its head. He then slides to another Sealsdramon, sending a mighty punch to the abdomen, which sent the digimon helplessly hurling towards an imperial. He spun around to launch a kick at a Commandramon, breaking its muzzle painfully. He swiftly dodged a BlackWeregarurumon's strike and elbowed it on the throat, blood spat out of the canine's mouth.

A Stingmon was about to attack him from behind, unfortunately for him, the digimon got violently bashed by Dynasmon. The humanoid insect impacted against a rock, creating small cracks around him.

Just as he was about to fight back, Elena and Larry thrusted their bayonets at his torso before firing some shots. Trying to shake them, he hit the female Marine away. Elena dropped on the ground, feeling intense pain across her face. Larry stabbed the digimon again, using his strenght to send him on the ground. Elena got back up and kicked Stingmon between his legs before he disolved into data particles.

"There! That fucking hurts!" She yelled, though she was a little dizzy from the hit.

Soon Hill 3 got captured by the Marines. Their next objective now is to hold off the enemy reinforcements, who were throwing everything at the paratroopers and Recon Marines in the south. Charlie company decided to assist the paratroopers at point Delta while Magnamon and Dynasmon joined up with Alphamon and Sakuyamon.

While the main force was distracted, the extraction team swiftly took out the legionaires at the temple, giving the Rangers and SFGs a clear way to go in the caves and extract the bomb. Paildramon kicked down the door and let a Ranger throw a flashbang in before they breached in the sanctuary.

At the first sight of a legionaire, PFC Ramirez fired two shots to the chest before switching to another soldier, firing a couple shots to the upper body. The operators took out the imperials systematically and almost automatically, killing the imperials with deadly and accurate fire. The temple was cleared in a matter of minutes. After cautiously searching room after room, the special forces found themselves in a large praying area, it was lit up by the sun through a naturally dug hole of the cave's ceiling. At the center of the room was the WMD, the prototype weapon still had wires connected to it by computers, it seemed that the digimon were trying to arm the weapon in a last ditch result. The special forces were relieved that they managed to stop them just in time.

SFG explosive ordinance disposal specialists were carefully disarming the weapon, plugging out the wires and disconnecting the computers.

"Examon, weapon has been disarmed and secured. We're bringing it out in a minute." Reported calmly Sergeant Foley through his headset comms.

" _R-right. Can you hurry up, please. We've got lots of enemy troops coming our way."_ Replied UlforceVeedramon at Examon's place.

"Is the bomb disarmed?" He asked Sergeant Odagiri of the SFG.

"Affirmative but we don't have the equipment to lift it out of here." Answered Odagiri, perplexed on their current sitation.

"Ramirez, get Paildramon and tell her to get her strongest men, asap." Ramirez nodded and ran back outside.

Several seconds later, he returned with a Dinobeemon, a Justimon, a Silphymon and Dukemon himself. Foley guided them to the bomb and instructed to lift it up slowly and carefully. They tried to lift it up but couldn't. They called for more digimon, an ExVeemon, a Garudamon, a Kuwagamon and Paildramon joined in. With their combined strenght, they heave up the bomb from its support, releasing grunts and pants while doing so. The 27,000 kilograms bomb was slowly being carried outside, the digimon were having a hard time to carry it.

"Why in Goddramon's sake is this thing so heavy?!" Exclaimed heavily the Dinobeemon.

"No idea... These humans must be nuts back in the day." Joked Dukemon through his heavy breathing.

"A couple of Greymon would have been nice to carry this shit around." Commented the Justimon.

"Agreed." His squadmates and Dukemon replied in unison.

"Shut up back there!" Paildramon scolded them. "We're almot there..." She encouraged them.

"I kinda feel bad for Examon." Said the Garudamon with mild concern.

Once outside, the special forces operators quickly took firing positions along the temple's wall, quickly disposing several imperials from entering the sanctuary. The bomb was finally outside, Examon landed near them, ready to carry it.

"Careful, Examon, this thing is heavy..." Dukemon warned while breathing out some fresh air.

"It can't be that heaa-VY!" Examon exclaimed as he carried it, feeling his muscles straining due to the heavy weight. "H-how much d-does this thing weighs?!"

"60,000 pounds." Replied Dunn with amusement. "You'll get through it tough guy."

Duftmon, Omegamon, Sleipmon and UlforceVeedramon joined up with Examon, the massive dragon trying for the second time to lift the bomb by himself.

"Need help, Examon?" Proposed Omegamon with some worry.

"G-gladly." He replied through his grunts.

"UlforceVeedramon and Dukemon, help Examon out. Omegamon, you'll escort them out." Instructed Duftmon.

"What about you two?" The white knight asked.

"We'll cover you for the time being. Now go! Time is of the essence."

With the help of the two other knights, they managed to lift it up off the ground and started to fly over the temple, Omegamon hovering close to them as he launches his range attacks at the enemy.

"Overlord, this is Hunter 2-1, the tsar has been lifted. I repeat: the tsar has been lifted." Reported Foley.

" _Solid copy, Hunter 2-1. Evac is coming in 10 mikes. You have one hour to get out of here before the Air force drops its bombs."_ Informed Overlord.

Just as the extraction team left the area, the situation turned for the worst. Point Delta was taking heavy casualties, the legionaires were overruning their position. At point Alpha, the Marines and paratroopers were outnumbered, troops from the nearby camp rushed towards them.

The ghost town was being bombarded by enemy artillerie to the west of Hill 3, with enemy reinforcements dropping from Blimpmon that came from Factory 119. Temple Waterfall was surrounded by marine-type imperials, slowly closing in on them with numbers. The battle could still be heard from their position, Dukemon gave a quick glance behind him, worry could be seen in his eyes.

"Where should we drop it?" Asked Omegamon warily.

"The Lake zone, apparently the humans know where to hide it..." Replied Examon.

"Why would they want to hide it?" Asked Dukemon, who didn't seem to like the idea.

"Maybe they want to use it?" Joked Ulforveedramon, not taking the situation seriously. "I'm telling you, these humans can be quite unpredictable." He added casually.

Omegamon remained silent, thinking about the consequences if humans did use this weapon in the DigiWorld. The results made him shivered at the thought. If a war broke out between their world, billions of lives will be lost in the matter of weeks. The Omega knight was feeling some resentment.

A missile hit its mark, sending two SFG operators back, crashing on the ground with debris falling over them. Sleipmon carried them in the temple where a combat medic took care of them. The imperials are right below them, the special forces were barely holding them off. Sleipmon went back outside to the battlefield. The humans were slowly backing away while continuing to open fire. A Divermon jumped over the wall and stabbed a Ranger with his harpoon, the weapon easily penetrating the plate carrier and out on the otherside of the human's body. Just as the Divermon took out his harpoon, he received an arrow to the head, shot by Sleipmon, who then carried the dead soldier back in the temple. Multiple Divermon and Troopmon rushed to the temple, the Aerial Strike force held them off in melee combat while the operators guarded the cave's entrance. Thanks to Duftmon: Leopard Mode, the mines detonated around the temple, killing dozens of imperial foot soldiers.

"Dunn! How long until evac arrives?" Asked Foley as he reloads his SCAR-H battle rifle.

"They should arrive in any seconds by now." Replied Dunn with a wince, clutching his wounded left shoulder.

Foley then heard a grenade rolling near him. He looked down and his eyes widened in shock.

"GRENADE!" He yelled as he pushes the SFG operator next to him to save them from the blast.

The grenade exploded, sending shrapnel around it. The japanese operator looked behind him and saw the american sergeant unconscious. He stood up and pulled the Ranger in the temple. The SFG operator was then shot by a Troopmon. Ramirez fired at the undead digimon a couple of shots with the Bushmaster ACR, the intermediate cartridges went through the digimon with ease. Ramirez check the pulses of both his sergeant and the japanese operator.

"Medic!" He called out urgently while giving cover fire for the two wounded operators.

Suddenly, everyone near the temple heard what seems to be some sort of projectile. Then, several explosions erupted at the imperials. Multiple Little Birds and Vipers arrived in the battlefield, bringing death from above. Venom and BlackHawk transport helicopters hovered above the temple, the Browing machine guns and M134 miniguns spewing rounds at the Troopmon and Divermon.

The infantry waves to the west of Hill 3 got annilihated by the incoming air support. The Marines in the ghost town cheered with pure joy, relieved that air support finally arrived. The same relief was also shared with the Recon Marines and paratroopers. Gary was helping Renamon walking down the steps to the first floor, the vixen got her ankle strained after a missile blew a part of the ceiling below her.

"About damn time they arrive..." Commented Gary with a chuckle. "How's your leg?"

"Fine..." She answered stoically. "Just hope that Guilmon will not lose his mind when he sees me like this." She added with a small grin.

Gary laughed at her attempt to lighten the mood. "You know, when you want, you're the funniest person I know."

"Thank you, that really means a lot to me." She responded gently before wincing when she accidently used her wounded leg to walk.

"I told you not to use that leg!" Gary scolded her for the fourth time.

"Yes, mother..." She shot back dryly.

Alphamon let out a sigh of relief when he saw a human helicopter hovering down. He picked up the wounded Taomon and led her to the transport.

"Hang in there, we're almost there." Alphamon encouraged the Tao priest.

The human pilots let the digimon on board as they help the recon Marines and paratroopers to board as many wounded as they can. Once the helicopter was full, it flew off until another arrived shortly after. While the wounded and dead were being evacuated, the Marines of Alpha company finally arrived to the defense of point Alpha. The relief force was welcomed by the paratroopers as they started to pull back to the ghost town, where the main evacuation site was established.

Twenty minutes has passed since the air support arrived and most of the human forces had been evacuated. In the ghost town, only the Marines of Charlie company remained with Alphamon, Craniamon and Sakuyamon with her bodyguards. The White Blossom combat clerics created aura barriers to protect the Marines and launched multiple energy attacks at the imperials, who were now surrounding the abandonned town.

"Blast Gatling!" Shouted a Tankdramon as it sped towards Sakuyamon and a Doumon.

Doumon quickly acted with her instincts and stood in front of her master. "Fog of confusion!" She cried, blinding the imperials around the area.

However, the storm of bullets passed through the thick smoke, Doumon took the brunt of the attack. She was caught by Sakuyamon, her master and leader looked at her with worry.

"Come on, Doumon, stay with me!" She said with immense worry.

The dark wizard simply nodded in response, the pain was too much for her to speak. Her robes were tainted by her own blood, her torso, arms and legs were filled with bullet holes. Sakuyamon carried her wounded battle sister and ran towards the human transports. Unfortunately, the Venom was already full and had started to fly away.

"Wait! I have one more wounded!" Sakuyamon screamed desperately at the pilots.

The Venom then blew in mid-air as a missile struck the vehicle, the blast envelopped everyone in. The debris fell dangerously around the Shaman and the wounded wizard. Then a shockwave from a missile sent them on the ground harshly.

As Sakuyamon tried sit up, she saw a Darkdramon standing over Doumon, impaling her with the Gigastic Lance, ending the wizard's life. The cyborg digimon then turned around and kicked the Shaman to the ground, readying his lance to impale her. Suddenly a white and crimson blur sent Darkdramon crashing against Hill 3. Covered in a thick cloud of dust, Dukemon used his cape to clear it. Sakuyamon was greeted with Dukemon lending his hand out for her to pick. She gladly took it. However, unexpected to her, she felt herself being carried by the knight.

With Sakuyamon safe in his arms, Dukemon flew off, out of the battlefield at the same time as Alphamon and the last remaining Marines managed to get evacuated.

During the trek out of the region, the two remained silent, holding onto one another dearly without realising it. Both of them felt somewhat awkward to find themselves in eachother's arms.

"I-is the weapon taken care off?" Asked shyly Sakuyamon, trying to break the uncomfortable situation.

"Yeah." Replied Dukemon casually. "It's in the Lake zone, the humans are building a base to secure it."

They returned back to their silence until Sakuyamon decided to speak up.

"Thanks for saving me back there."

"You're welcome but... I'm sorry I couldn't save Doumon." Sakuyamon could hear the sorrow and guilt Dukemon tried to stifle.

"It can't be helped, Dukemon, you did an amazing job at helping us carry the bomb away. And I'm extremely grateful and indebted to you." She declared softly, her heartbeat slowly increasing. "I also want to apologize for all those years of ignoring you-"

"Don't-"

"No, Dukemon, you're not going to butt in again." She playfully scolded before frowing. "It must have been hard for you." Dukemon silently nodded.

"You're everything to me." He softly added.

"And so are you to me." She stated shyly.

Dukemon stopped in his track, leaving the two hovering in the air. He looked at her with surprise written in his eyes.

"Though I can't forgive you for the lost of a hundred of my kin, I am willing to give you a second chance. To restart from the beginning. I am forever indebted to you." She looked up at him and gently took off her fox mask, staring at his golden eyes with hers icy blue.

"I-I don't know what to say..." Stuttered out Dukemon, still staring at his love one.

"You could start by introducing yourself" She playfully suggested.

Dukemon smile widely behind his helmet. "Hello, Madam, my name's Dukemon. What's yours?"

"The name's is Sakuyamon. It is nice to meet you, Sir Dukemon."

"It is nice to meet you too, Lady Sakuyamon."

They stared at each other happily, finally reunited, their relationship rekindled.

" _Dukemon, now is not the time for lovey dovey time. You're still in a combat mission until you come back to base."_ Alphamon interrupted them as he flew pass them.

Dukemon nervously nodded in response and resumed their flight back to the base.

"So since we are back together... do you think it's too early-"

"It's too early." Sakuyamon instantly replied, knowing what Dukemon was implying.

"Good, because I kinda forgot where I put the ring." Dukemon explained sheepishly.

Sakuyamon sighed before smiling at the crimson knight.

"You're still a lovable idiot."

Back at Castle Albion, Dukemon and Sakuyamon were the last ones to arrive and they were met with a sad and horrid scene. Dozens of wounded humans were being treated on the spot, the castle's medical bay was overpopulated to treat them in. Digimon physicians and human medics walked around at a quick pace, checking up on patient after patient before having a wounded being carried in the medical bay depending on the seriousness of the wound.

"I'm going to help with the wounded." She told him before leaving him.

Dukemon looked around him, feeling a bit clueless on what to do. He headed in the castle, carefully avoiding the wounded. Once in the hallways, he was met with more wounded soldiers, their moans and cries echoed in the castle. Dukemon glanced at the soldiers with empathy as he made his way to the war room. He finally found the rest of the Royal Knights, who were all waiting outside the war room.

"Where's Alphamon?" He asked them.

"With the human officers and the ambassador. They're talking about the nuke." Replied Magnamon after a tired yawn.

Moments later, Alphamon, Yamaki, Raymond and Colbert got out of the room.

"Looks like I'm going back to Tokyo." Yamaki said annoyed. "I'll try to convince to dispose the bomb somewhere safe before it can get in the wrong hands."

"Thank you, ambassador." Alphamon thanked gratefully with a bow.

"Captain, good luck with the war." Yamaki said with a salute.

"Same here, congress meetings are as boring as watching a white wall." Raymond replied with a sly smile.

Once the ambassador left off, Alphamon faced his knights with relief and pride in his eyes.

"Well, Royal Knights, mission accomplish." The Royal Knights let out sighs of relief and chuckled a little. "We should be grateful that the humans were there to help us. This proves our worlds that cooperation is important and key to success and hopefully achieving peace and security in the DigiWorld. Now get yourselves useful and help the medics." He instructed. The Royal Knights saluted in response.

Operation Outbreak was a key mission to disrupt the progress of the Imperium. With their most powerful weapon taken and their research facility gone, the Imperium's military advancement has been pushed back. The Tsar Bomba II was one of the preludes to the creation of the Digimon Security Forces, the Digital World's equivalent of the UN's Peacekeepers.

Though deemed a major victory, the casualty report was too great to compensate. The global casualty reports of the IDDF will be a controversial topic of the war in the Digital World. It is also around that time that the officials of the IDDF realised that their soldier's equipment was useless against the digimon, prompting many military research facilities to develop proper combat equipments and weapons for the soldiers of the IDDF. Unknown to many soldiers who fought in the operation, they were the ones who changed both worlds, indirectly.

* * *

"Well you are quite lucky, Staff Sergeant," Announced Corpsman Eugene 'Doc'. "A sprained ankle, a light concussion to the head and two broken ribs."

"Broken ribs?" Renamon asked confusely as she sat up from the medical bed, a small patch of bandage was on her forehead, near the right ear and her left ankle also bandaged up. "That's weird, I haven't felt anything in my ribs."

"Oh I know, but you'll feel a lot of pain much later," The corpsman went to the cabinets behind him and searched a little around before he gave Renamon a small vial of painkillers. "You'll need them for tonight and later." He informed her.

"So how long do I have to wait before I'm fully recovered?"

"Two weeks." He answered immediately, not taking his eyes off his clipboard filled with medical sheets on the numerous patients in the facility. "I suggest you should lay back and relax for the mean time."

"Will do, Doc, and thank you for patching me up." With that said, she heaved herself off the bed and grabbed the pair of crutches to walk out of the medical station.

"Have a good evening, Staff Sergeant." Eugene responded loud enough for her to hear as she exits the room.

Once she was in her sleeping quarter and peacefully tucked in her bed, she blankly stared at the white marble ceiling, her mind wandering off elsewhere. Her arms rested behind her head. At the opposite side of the room was Gary's bed. The sergeant was in his PT gear, an olive green t-shirt with marine blue running shorts. In a relaxed position, he was casually playing with his Nintendo 3DS, sent to him by his younger brother as a Christmas gift. Since then, it has been his new late night hobby, usually it was cleaning his weapon or reading a book.

"Are you all right, ma'am?" Asked Gary, his head shifted away from the small screen and looked at the digimon.

"Yes, what makes you ask that?"

"I dunno know, you seemed... quieter." He stated while returning back to his video game.

"Quieter?" She wondered out loud, more to herself than to Gary.

"Yeah, quieter." He simply added.

Letting a small snort escape her mouth, she decided to just start the conversation, it could help her. "Fine, I've been thinking."

"Thinking about what?"

"Not sure, about everything..." At that response Gary laughed.

"Everything? Shit, you are becoming more like us now." He said with a toothy grin.

"That is true, I should blame you." Renamon shot back jokingly before she returned to her neutral state. To be honest, a lot of things have been going through her mind, things that made her nervous, worry, afraid. And these thoughts only made her hate herself, ashamed for letting such thoughts disturbing her cool and calm nature.

"We have been through a lot, haven't we?" She suddenly asked out of the blue, making Gary poke his head away from his video game and look at Renamon with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, we've been through a lot in such a short amount of time. Can't believe I'm still alive so far."

"Why did you join the Marines?" She asked once more in a neutral tone, her mind still lost in her troubling thoughts.

Caught off guard, Gary began to grow some concern for his friend. "Are you sure you are alright in there? I feel like you hit your head a tad bit too hard." He stated with a small smile.

"I don't know what's going on with me recently..." She began, staring back at the human with a stoic look. "I feel like I'm missing something."

Gary was about to say something when suddenly knocks came from the other side of their door. A bit surprise, he got off the bed and walked casually to the door. He opened the door and a friendly smile appeared on his face.

"Oh hey, Guilmon."

"Hey, uh, is Renamon here?" The saurian digimon asked shyly. Gary took noticed the light pink blush that was on the digimon's face.

"Yup, come in, pal." He opened the door fully and stepped aside to let Guilmon in.

Renamon sat up on her bed and smiled brightly at the sight of her mate. She welcomed him with her arms wide open, demanding a big hug. Guilmon gladly gave her the embrace, giving her a small kiss on her furry cheek. He then sat on her bed, his back to the wall while she nestled closely to him, resting her head on his shoulder while her tail wrapped around his waist.

"How's your leg?" He asked while he rested his head on top of hers.

"Fine, I'll be back into action in two weeks." She answered.

Gary sat back on his bed and resumed to break his record in the video game, ignoring the couple.

"So what did I miss?" Guilmon asked to the both of them curiously.

"Well, Staff Sergeant Renamon here was getting all philosophical before you came in." Replied Gary, his eyes still glued to the flashing screens and arcady noises the 3DS produced.

"Really? And what was this philosophical matter you two were talking about?" Guilmon inquired with a playful smirk.

"Oh nothing, I was just missing you, that is all." Renamon answered with a blissful smile. Her eyes closed as she rested on his smooth scales.

Gary merely rolled his eyes at the cliché response she gave them. " _Of course",_ he thought to himself, but deep down he knew there was something more. It bothered him that she would hide the truth from him, it was unnatural of her. But oh well, he would have to wait, no need to insist or prod her for answers, if he had done so he would surely be dead on the spot or having his face crushed to the stone cold ground. He shuddered at that thought.


	28. Chapter 27

Chapter 27:

Discoveries

Two years. The human intervention, "Operation Restoring Freedom", has been going on for two years now. Most soldiers are now battle-hardened warriors, having been through many battles, most have faced the battle at Dawnstar Hill and few fought the Battle of Tokyo.

However on Earth not much is told from the conflict other than the rare occasions of reports on major victories and sadly the casualty reports. The U.N claimed the war to be the deadliest conflict in modern history. In two years, there have been over 20,000 confirmed killed in action, only a half are wounded and a few hundred missing in action. This report has sparked public anger across the globe, blaming the U.N and NATO for sending their troops to their deaths. An unknown whistleblower of the JSDF leaked the information on the military equipment of their troops, commenting that they were "ineffective", "useless" and "ill-equipped" for the dangers of the Digital World. This further increased general public anger. The tension is on the rise as citizens around the world demand the return of their soldiers and the definitive closure of the gate.

 _July 25th 2019, Hypnos Temporary Headquarters, Ginza District, Tokyo_

" _For the third time this month, peace protesters have gathered in front of the main fence gate to the Ginza District. Law enforcements and military personnels have been deployed quickly, heavily guarding the area. As we can see, thousands of japanese citizens have marched to the district demanding the closure of the gate and the retrieval of our troops. The riot police have yet to engage the crowd but we can see that the tension is rising when a couple of protesters started to throw rocks and bottles at the officers. The riot police responded by moving forward, creating a impregnable defensive line. But so far there hasn't been any further incident. This is Kuribayashi Nanami, reporting live from NTV-News24!"_

With a light cheery 'ding' from the elevator, Yamaki arrived at his office floor. Stepping out, he was immediately assaulted with blinding camera flashes and bombardments of questions asked by a dozen of journalists that now surrounded him.

How the hell did they get here? He didn't know himself as he pushes his way into the wall of camera flashes.

He repeated constantly "No comment" and "No result yet" to the interviews as he makes his way to the safety of his office. Shutting the door forcefully behind him, he sighed happily once their voices were muffled behind him. He took off his black suit and set it behind his swivel chair. He ungracefully sat on the office chair, relieved by its comfort and the fact that he was saved from the chaos that is happening just outside his door. The ongoing protest could be heard just outside his windows.

Hypnos had the unfortunate chance of occupying the only office building in Ginza District, still under construction and JSDF occupation. It is located just behind the northern entrance to the district, which is now surrounded by chain linked fence walls, guard posts, checkpoints and numerous military patrols. Of course they had to be just in the thick of the peace protests. Then, he heard loud popping sounds followed by the screams emanated from the crowd. Tear gas have been deployed and now the riot police are making their charge.

Ignoring the hectic scene that is happening below, he checked his personal smartphone, staring affectionately at the background picture on the screen. It was a picture of his date with Riley Ohtori. It depicts the woman smiling broadly at him. It was the moment when he took the picture by surprise while she was ordering her ice cream. It was his best day: no work issues, no political bullshit, no traffic jams. It was just him and the only woman he truly fell in love with, strolling in Shinjuku Park on a beautiful, clear day. However their intimate moments were cut short after the battle of Tokyo, their work increased and so they had very little time for each other, but somehow they prevail by making their small moments count.

Knocks interrupted his mesmerized trance. He jerked his head up and allowed them to come in. Dread instantly filled him as he witnessed a young man, probably in his early twenties, his white shirt stained by his sweat caused by work stress and the unbearable summer heat. The man was carrying a large stack of paper sheets, all work related. He carefully placed it on a corner of his desk and simply took a single sheet of paper and handed it to him, which Yamaki took it with mild surprise.

"What is this?" He asked professionally.

"A report from the Digital World, sir." Replied the young employee, "Written by the Lieutenant-Colonel Hazama himself, sir." He added dutifully.

"You don't have to act like that. We are just government employees." Yamaki told him bluntly as he reads the report. "Are you new here?"

"Yes, sir."

"Let me guess: Tally told you to act like a soldier." The employee nodded nervously. He simply chuckled in response. "For God's sake, kid, don't listen to that mischevious woman. She always likes to pick on the new guys."

Yamaki looked away from the report to see that the man was still standing motionless, his back as straight as a straw and his face stoic, staring over him.

"Is there anything else?" He asked midly annoyed.

"No, sir."

"Then you are dismissed."

With a polite bow, the employee retrieved his stack of paper work and went out, almost running into another employee by accident.

"Project Purging, huh?"

* * *

 _July 18_ _th_ _2019, NeoNexus Continent, Digital World_

In the Digital World, the IDDF has been praised by many digimon. Throughout the two years, they were victorious through each battle. Troops were called as "The Freedom soldiers" by the local populace. Contrary to the Real World, they were gratefully and warmly welcomed by the digital beings. Village after village, city after city and zone after zone were liberated by the IDDF. The Sovereigners, powerful and divine being of the Digital World, have praised the human coalition for their effort to put a stop to the warmongering Imperium. Other mighty organizations and factions pledged their full support to the coalition.

On July 12th 2019, the 1st Digital Marines Battalion, now at the spearhead of the coalition has crossed the Imperium's homeland: NeoNexus. And so begins the invasion of the IDDF into heavy Imperial territory.

On July 18th 2019, the Marines of Alpha company arrived in _Tal der Kaiser_ , a vast agricultural zone filled with immense green valleys and tall rocky mountains, dotted with large beautiful lakes at the bottom of the rocky formations. It was truly a mesmerizing sight for the Marines as they entered deeper in the zone. Taking the only paved road to cross the rocky formation of the _"Kings' Den"_ , the company came across a tunnel, blocked by debris and large boulders. There is only one way to respond to this: lots and lots of explosives.

His hands shook lightly as he carefully places and arms the C4 explosives on a boulder. The EOD specialist then placed a couple of handgrenades as additional firepower and ran back to his M-ATV. Behind the EOD team was the Marine convoy, the men got out and simply idled around, chatting, lying on the ground or took the time to admire the view.

Dukeman was smoking, taking a long drag of his "cancer" stick while Raymond was playing a game on his smartphone.

"How come you don't smoke?" The gunnery-sergeant asked casually, enjoying the nicotine flowing in his system.

"Because I'm smart," Raymond answered playfully, his eyes still glued to the video game, "Or maybe it's because of video games."

Dukeman hummed in agreement before he threw the cigarette on the road. He took a small sip from his hydration pack and casually leans back on the L-ATV. Out of curiosity, he discreetly tilts his head towards Raymond's phone. He was playing a digimon card game, in the Digital World, on the job and right next to Renamon, who was chatting with her teammates.

"Unfucking believable, bro..."

"Shut up."

"Explosives are up!" Shouted one of the EOD specialists, warning the Marines of the upcoming grand fireworks.

The men quickly gather their gear, took cover behind the vehicles and covered their heads and ears. The EOD squad leader checked that the Marines were behind cover and checked their distance from the eventual blast zone. A Private 1st Class awaited his signal, detonator in hand anxiously. The team leader muffled his ears with his fingers and nodded to the soldier.

"FIRE IN THE HOLE! FIRE IN THE HOLE!" He shouted before pressing the detonator.

A loud and earth shaking explosion disturbed the peaceful silence of the mountains. The shockwave vibrated violently as it sends and envelops everyone in a thick dust cloud. After two whole minutes, the EOD team inspected the result with Captain Raymond trailing behind them. They were quite baffled of the result.

"Well, shit..." Commented the squad leader in disbelief.

"Did you add enough frags?" Asked Raymond, perplexed of this particular situation.

Though the explosives did the job at destroying the barricade of debris and boulders, they found out that the entire tunnel was blocked.

"Should we add more or call air support?" Asked the EOD sergeant, half-joking and half-serious.

"Permission to speak, sir?" Said Renamon behind them formally. Raymond looked back and nodded. The kitsune then turns to the convoy, "Lance Corporal Guilmon!"

"What are you doing?"

"Calling someone more capable for this job, Captain," She explained before turning to the EODs, "No offense, guys."

Guilmon ran up to the group, saluted them dutifully and asked why he was called over.

"Think you can drill all the way through?" Asked Renamon with a hint of confidence in her voice.

"Uh yeah, with my "Rock Breaker" attack, I think I can go through but it is going to take some time, and energy." He concluded pensively.

"Try combo it with "Kiai Tame"." The other digimon suggested.

"That could work... Rock Breaker first then Kiai Tame followed directly with another Rock Breaker." He nodded in agreement and stretched his arms. He is now determined to do his job.

"Thanks, _sweetie~"_ Renamon swiftly and stealthly gave a small peck on Guilmon's cheek, making him blush redder than his scales.

With the course of action approved and agreed by the others, the Marines and EOD team all went back to their vehicles, starting up the engines. The machines of war roared loudly to life. Guilmon inspected carefully the barricade, planning his actions, not wanting it to fall on top of his head or causing an avalanche towards the convoy. Taking in a deep breath, Guilmon began his handiwork, his sturdy claws make quick work at destroying the boulders, drilling easily through the barricade. Using more effort, he used his Hazard energy to power up his following attack, drilling in the tunnel faster and effectively. Meanwhile the convoy trailed behind him slowly.

"Jesus Christ, look at him go on those boulders..." Noted in amazement Sergeant Adam "Rookie" Blade, a new member to Renamon's squad.

"All that digging sure paid off. Am I right, Staff Sergeant?" Asked playfully Roach as he drives the M-ATV.

"You have no idea..."

A quarter of an hour later, Guilmon has managed to dig through the blocked tunnel and allowed the convoy to go through. At the end on the tunnel, Guilmon was lying on his back, breathing heavily as the adrenaline rush he had was now gone, leaving a very tired Guilmon.

Raymond's vehicle stopped and the captain got out, a chocolate bar on one hand and a bottle of water on the other. He walked to him with a proud smile and handed to him the chocolate and drink.

"There you go, Marine, you've earned it."

"Sure as hell...I did..." Guilmon replied through heavy breaths. He sat up and greedily drank the bottle in one go, splashing some of the water on his face to cool off the heat.

"Come on, buddy," Raymond offered his hand to pull the saurian digimon up.

Once Guilmon was back in his designated squad vehicle, the whole convoy moved forward on the mountain pass.

The company's mission is a capture and hold objective. The target: a small military fortress located at one of the peaks of the Kings' Den, designated "Peak 549" or, as the locals would have called it, "The Kaiser's Mansion". The fortress is perched on top of a limestone plateau, dominating the towns and villages below at the foot of the mountain. In a strategic location, it is additionally defended by the natural moutaineous environment, the sheer height of the mountain's face was sufficient to discourage any assault from the sides, leaving only one, painful and deadly way to go, up front and through the heavily defended pass. One way up, one way down. It is surrounded by double crenellated walls, double barbican and a dug in moat to further increase the difficulty for any potential invader. The fortress has a large, square-shaped, Romanesque keep with vertical sides, held together with attached watch towers on each corners. To one side were small residence apartments, side-by-side with a courtyard and a square plan staircase serving the apartments. The residence sections were built with a mixture of cobblestone, clay and durable and sturdy woodwork.

As the convoy approaches the venerable fortress, the Marines prepared themselves for a fight. The vehicles' turret gunners scanned their surroundings. They were driving slowly and in the open with no clue where the enemy might be at; a perfect opportunity for a deadly ambush that would surely lead to a massacre. However nothing happens...

"I do not like this shit..." Stated Raymond as he warily scans the area. "2-Actual, this is Alpha-actual, what do you see, over."

" _Zero hostiles for now, Alpha-actual. Can't say I like this, Captain."_ Answered sincerely 2nd Lieutenant Keith of second platoon. _"Correction: I see two imps at the first gatehouse..."_

"What's their status?" Raymond asked curiously.

" _Non-hostile..."_

"Can you confirm that report?"

" _Aye sir, they're waving white flags, I repeat: they are waving white flags. How should we proceed?"_

"Stop the convoy a hundred meters away from the gatehouse, disembark and capture them." He instructed sternly, "To all units, this is Alpha-actual, we're stopping now, disembark and be on your guard, Marines."

The Marines got out of their transports, weapons at the ready as they form a defensive perimeter. A squad of Marines followed Raymond and Dukeman as they joined up with Lieutenant Keith and the two prisonners. Sitting against the tall and strong stone wall was a Flybeemon and a Turuiemon, their hands cuffed behind their backs. Inspecting the two digimon, Raymond exchanged a few words with Keith before he knelt in front of them, looking and observing their faces neutrally.

"Care to explain...this." He demanded.

"We were ordered to surrender by Commander Dominimon." Explained Flybeemon calmly.

Curious at that, Raymond ordered Keith to take them back to the convoy before he addresses to Dukeman.

"Get me Colbert and Sparks," Dukeman nodded and radioed them in. Once Colbert and 2nd Lieutenant Sparks of 1st platoon joined up, Raymond began to explain the situation:

"Colbert, I want your men at the front with the vehicles while First and Second platoon will follow on foot, Third and Fourth platoon will stay behind and secure the first gatehouse. I want them to establish a checkpoint here," Dukeman nodded again and began to transmit the order, "Anvil 3-1 and Anvil 3-2 will push with us up there. Keep on your guard, Marines, this might be a trap. Oorah?"

"Oorah!"

With a solid nod from the company commander, the Marines went to action, half of the company were ready to push up while the other half began to set up the checkpoint. As they prepare themselves to move up, Raymond contacted through his radio Battalion Command.

"Warlord, Warlord, this is Alpha-actual, how copy?"

" _Solid copy, what's the sitrep?"_

"We've reached at target area. Confirm two hostile POWs, they say that they want to surrender. We're pushing further in shortly. Requesting a Royal Knight, how copy? Over.."

" _Solid copy on sitrep and request. Nearest RK is twenty mikes away from your AO. Callsign RK 5, over."_

"Roger that, we're pushing now in the meantime, over and out." Ending the connection, he turns and faces the Marines assigned to him. "Are you all ready? Then let's move out!"

As the company is split in two, Guilmon, who was on the turret seat of a M-ATV, heard one of his squadmates cursing loudly. Turning to his right, he saw that the Marine was frantically untying his pants before quickly sitting down on a box, the "shit bucket" as the Marines affetionately called it. The digimon gringed in disgust and looked the opposite way, his nostrils unfortunately assaulted by the smell of human waste.

"I hate my job..." He muttered under his breath.

Crossing through the third gatehouse without a single resistance, the Marines were facing the large solid wood and steel doors of the main entrance. Colbert was about to recommend using C4 explosives to bust the doors open when the latter started to slowly open by itself, or to be more exact, by two Knightmon. The Marines, being on high alert, pointed their weapons at them, anxiously waiting to fire the shot. The digizoid clad digimon stood upright, facing each other and stepped aside, leaving enough space for the human troops to go through. Wary, the Marines got in without any incident. Inside the main courtyard was a small company of imperial troopers. They were doing their daily and miscellaneous tasks prior the Marines' arrival; they then suddenly stopped their tasks and lined up next to each other up to the keep, standing straightly as if greeting the humans like royalty. Still confused, the humans stood there silently, not knowing what the hell is going on now.

The two M1A1 Abrams and the APCs and LAVs rolled in while the Marines, with their weapons up, ordered them to go to the ground before they started to cuff them. Raymond ordered First platoon to hold the courtyard while Dukeman called in additional support.

"Colbert, get your Marines with me, we're moving to the keep." He demanded before leaving the Gunnery-Sergeant in charge of the courtyard.

Raymond then felt something that burned in his throat. It was the same sensation that have been harrassing him for almost an entire year. With a loud snort, he spat out the infamous black glob that have been poisoning his insides. Looking at it with disgust and hatred, he took a sip of water to wash down the back metallic taste in his throat and mouth.

"Breaching!"

With a mighty kick, Renamon's strike pushed the thick wooden doors open, the shockwave it sent broke the chandelier hanging from above and shattered some of the paintings hanging on the wall decorated with gold and crimson tapisseries. The Recon Marines split into groups, each going in different directions, clearing the empty rooms while Raymond reports to command. A dozen imperial staff personnels were taken under Marine custody and were escorted outside by the other regular Marines that were called for the escort. It took the Recon Marines ten whole minutes to clear room after room on each floor before they have reached the last one.

Leading her squad through a dimly lit corridor, Renamon raised her fist to halt their advance before informing them to prepare for a breach-and-clear to the door at the end of the corridor. Once they were in position, she gave a small nod to Sergeant Nigel Miller. The sergeant pulled his Remington 870 breacher shotgun and fired at the door's latch. He then forcefully kicked the door open and stepped backwards, leaving the rest of the squad to breach in. The room seemed to be a large office, the walls decorated with old portraits of the fort's previous owners. At the center of the room is a finely decorated wooden desk, painted with some gold on the sides. Behind the desk is a black leather chair, with its occupant calmly staring at the heavily armed Marines who all pointed their rifles at his head. Commander Dominimon slowly stood up and quietly raised his hands in surrender. Renamon signalled two of her Marines to cuff him while the others surround him.

"State your name, rank and unit." She demanded firmly.

"Commander Dominimon, 23rd Company 45th Infantry Regiment, 12th Legion." He replied truthfully and immediately after the question was asked.

The Marines binded his hands behind his back and slightly pushed him forward, guiding him outside so that he will join the other prisonners in the courtyard.

"Search the room. Take anything that might be important." Renamon instructed before she goes back down to the keep's first floor.

The squad got to work instantly after she left the office, searching every nook and cranny of the place. They've searched into the small bedroom adjacent to the office, looked under and in the sofas, peeked into every drawer, taking out the portraits and inspected the wall in case there is a hidden passage, ripped the prestine, soft floor carpet and searched below it. Little by little, they were destroying the place with no result yet for the search of any vital information.

Gary was searching into the desk. He read the note that Dominimon was writing prior their arrival, it was a letter to his wife, he presumed. He took the pen and kept the letter in his admin pouch, deciding to give it to the commander later. As he opened one of the drawers, he was met with a pile of paper, possibly imperial documents. He took them and read them quickly. They were mostly daily reports of the fort's activity: maintenance tasks, re-supplies, patrols, etc. As he dumped them into his combat rucksack, a particular document caught his eyes. It was a folder with a bold red stamp on it: " **PROJECT PURGING** ". Intrigued he decided to give it a read. What was in the document surely shocked him as his face paled a minute reading through its content.

A solid knock caught everyone's attention. Stopping their search, the Marines turned to the door. It was UlforceVeedramon, leaning against the door frame with a friendly smile. He looked around the place and whistled in amazement.

"Wow, you guys sure did some unique re-decoration. I like it." He said jokingly before he walks in the room. "Pack your things, you're leaving in less than ten minutes, we've got this, guys."

Without any protest the Recon Marines picked up whatever useful item they've gathered and all walked out silently. As for Gary, he was cautious of the Royal Knight, finding it odd he was commanding them casually. Not wanting the digimon to catch him with the document, he hurriedly shoved it in his rucksack and went out quickly. He tried to remain calm and collective, however UlforceVeedramon seemed to eye him suspeciously. Once a step outside, Gary gave a quick glance at the Royal Knight, he was still eyeing him with an almost cold stare. Roach returned the gaze in defiance and continued to join with the others. UlforceVeedramon watched him turned around the corner before he shrugged off. He then looked at the desk, something felt wrong here...

"All right, Marines! Let's move out!" Ordered loudly Dukeman as the Marines went in their vehicles in the courtyard.

Just as he left the keep, Roach walked straight to Dominimon. "Hey , you!" He called him out while searching through his admin pouch, "Here, bet you need this." He said as he hands to the commander the letter and the pen. With a broad and grateful smile, Dominimon bowed down, "Thank you very much, human."

The Royal Knight arrived with a small platoon of the Strike Force to occupy the fort. Roach went in the driver's seat, still visibly nervous, which worried Renamon, who was sitting on the front passenger seat. She lightly nudged his shoulder.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Huh? Uh, yeah, I'm fine..." He lied, feeling bad for doing so.

"You look like you've seen a ghost." She noted, still staring at him.

"Uh, kinda did actually..." He decided to play along with it, "I guess this place is haunted, gave me the heebie jeebies, ya know."

"I guess it can give you that vibe," She presumed to that theory, "Felt the same when I passed this one room."

Relieved that the conversation shifted, Roach listened intently on Renamon's encounter with the paranormal, which was extremely rare in the Digital World, since everything was strange for the average human being. Unfortunately for him, her tale of the haunted room will give him nightmares for at least two weeks.

 _Camp Toki, Tal der Kaiser_

The military base, named after a fallen British paratrooper, is one of the first bases to have installed a good internet connection and phone booths for the many soldiers to contact their family and loved ones. It is also one of the largest military camp of the IDDF, the other one being back at Dawnstar Hill which now had the size of a full fledged town, surrounded by thick concrete and heavily fortified walls. The camp was almost the twice the size of camp Shorabak (formely Camp Bastion) in Afghanistan, housing over 50,000 troops, human and digimon alike, all from different nations and armies. It was the main operational hub base of the IDDF in the continent.

Renamon was on the phone for the first time in two years with her tamer, Rika Nonaka. However her joyful mood shifted to worry once she learned the news that her tamer has enlisted in the JGSDF. But she remained as calm as possible.

"Are you sure you aren't considering things a bit too quickly?" She asked for the third time, still concerned.

" _For the last time_ , _Renamon, I'm a grown adult now! I can make my own decisions."_

"You're barely twenty one and you're making a very selfish and immature reason to join the military." Renamon responded sarcastically. "Rika, you need to stop worrying about me-"

" _Stop worrying?! Renamon, we haven't spoken to each other in two years! A lot of things can happen in two years! Do you have any idea how much I'm stressed out?"_ A pang of guilt stabbed Renamon's heart, her voice dead silent as she continues to listen to Rika's rant, _"Besides it's not like I have any idea what I wanted to do with my life,"_

"You could be a model or an author." Suggested Renamon.

" _Har har, that's a big "no no" for modelling and being an author was just a child dream."_ The red-haired young woman shot back.

"Dreams can come true however. You shouldn't give up on them." Persuaded Renamon, using last minute negociations to stall and hopefully change Rika's mind.

" _Oh for God's sake, you sound like mom, heck even SHE was more accepting than you!"_ Renamon could feel Rika's anger boiling up.

"Please, Rika, calm down. I don't want to fight with you, especially not now." She heard Rika sighed sadly. "You must understand, I'm your partner and it is my duty, and now job, to protect you and your family."

" _Our family, Renamon,"_ Her tamer corrected her, _"I know, I know... It's just... I miss you so much, I can't help but think for the worst. You're like a big sister to me."_

"I know, I feel the same way for you." Renamon then decided to change her mind, "And as a big sister, I will support you from now on." She declared with a small, sad smile.

" _Thanks, Renamon, I always knew I can count on you."_

"Always. Now finish boot camp and you better be a lieutenant or captain when I come back." She said in a playful manner.

" _Oorah, Renamon. And you knock them imps dead."_

The two shared a small laugh before they were both silent, none of them didn't know how to finish to call, they didn't want to.

" _Stay safe, please."_ Rika finally said to break the silence.

"You too." Renamon responded sadly.

And with that the line went dead. In a fit of frustation and sadness, she slammed the phone into the phone booth with intense force, breaking the new installation a little bit and scaring the living shit out of the nearby soldiers around her. The line of men behind her immediately 'noped' the hell out, not wanting to get in her way. She stood there silently for awhile, then after wiping a lone tear from her eyes, she walked away and headed for the barracks.

Being a digimon with claws for hands hasn't been quite easy for Guilmon. Sure he was treated fairly, however his claws limited him to do certain tasks in the military like maintaining vehicles, cleaning weapons or even using a rifle. The only weapons he could use were heavy machine guns, grenade machine guns, missile launchers and operating mortars. As such he became a mix of a heavy weapons specialist and of a logistics specialist, being able to carry twice the load of an ordinary soldier and still be faster than them. Carrying supplies and using big weapons was his thing.

However there was one specialty he was good at: making someone smile. It was his _forte_ eversince he met Takato, his creator and tamer, and his family, friends and... Renamon. His natural talent than expanded to the Marines, everyone liked him. Always there to make them laugh or ease the tension after a firefight. But he was more of an expert when it came to his mate: Renamon.

Eversince they were together, he did everything he could to just bring a smile to her face, turning her bad mood upside down, and it worked every single time.

During his career now, Guilmon has shifted quite a lot of squad and platoon. First he was a mortar specialist in the Fourth Squad of First Platoon, later he was assigned to Second Squad of Third Platoon and now he is back in First Platoon, assigned to Third Squad, Flamedramon's squad, as a heavy weapons specialist. This change made him happy since now he can spend more time with one of his friends. And sure enough, he was sharing a room with Flamedramon.

Lying on his bed in a relaxed manner, he was reading one of Flamedramon's mangas, spending the time before his next task begins in thirty minutes. Then a knock interrupted his reading session. Smelling the air, he concluded it was Renamon behind the door, in a bad mood. Hopefully, Flamedramon was out eating at the mess hall with some of the squadmates, which means he could share some time with his mate in peace.

Jumping out of his bed and rushing to the door, he opened it with a friendly smile on his face. This infected Renamon as she smiled back. Leading her to his bed, the two digimon sat down in silence, the vixen was staring at the wooden floorboards sadly. Instinctively, Guilmon grabbed her soft paw and stroked it lovingly. His face leaned closer to hers.

"Is everything alright?" He asked in a whisper.

Her ears twitched in response and she turned to face him a little bit. "Kinda..." She whispered back. "Rika is joining the military." She finally revealed to him.

Quite surprised and immediately understanding her mood, he wrapped his arms around her in a warm embrace. She replied with affectionately nuzzling her head on his neck.

"And you're worried for her." He presumed correctly. Renamon simply hummed. "You don't have to, she's a tough woman now." He chuckled as he remembered the girl he used to fear, but respected so much. He sure did remember those cold gazes she would usually give to Takato and him when they were younger.

"Yeah but what if they deploy her here," Renamon countered, "You and me know how long a human can last in this war," Her tone quickly saddened, "We've lost so many, seen too much deaths... I can't stand to imagine the day I have to live with my family, well alive, while she's gone, probably dead and forgotten like the rest of them." She then started to sob quietly. "I-I don't want to bear that guilt! I have already lost four of my men, b-brave and y-young men, with families waiting for them! A-and I watched them die before my very ey-" She completely broke down, revealing Guilmon one extremely rare side of her, grief.

The two digimon have seen too much of their friends perished easily. The IDDF's death toll was almost higher than their wounded. "Operation Anvil" had been quite the bloodiest battle they have been so far; three months of constant, gruelling close quarters fight in a desert. A lot of men died or have lost their minds after that battle.

"I know it's hard but we need to stay strong," Guilmon rocked her left and right, comforting her, "Stay strong and we will prevail. Stay strong for Rika."

With that said, Renamon stayed in Guilmon's warm embrace not wanting to let go, not that it bothered him anyway. Two minutes in silence passed before she perked her head out of his neck and gave him one long loving kiss.

"Thank you." She said passionately with a smile.

"You're welcome." He replied back with his signature bright smile.

She stayed longer in the room with him, enjoying his presence as long as possible, twenty four minutes to be precise.

* * *

Raymond stared at the document on his desk with dread and a bit with fear. Roach has been quite agitated when he briefed him about the contents. In his office, the Recon Marine stood at the desk in front of him, standing straight but his face was nervous. That only made Raymond nervous because he knew the Marine well and he haven't seen him this shaken.

"Are you sure about this? About everything in this folder?" He asked nervously.

"Yes, sir. I suggest we prepare a course of action asap. We can possibly prevent another war or even the destruction of our world." Roach explained to him with a shaky voice.

"Now let's not get too radical with this, maybe it's false or forgotten. We don't know." Raymond reasonned with him, but deep down it kind of scared him.

"Exactly, sir. We do not know if they'll apply this plan or use it now or even soon." The Marine countered.

With a long minute of reasoning, Raymond decided to follow the Marine's instinct. "I'll see what I can do about it."

"Promise you won't show it to any Royal Knight."

"I promise, Gary. You're dismissed."

Gary left the office, leaving Raymond with the document. Opening it, he read it intently, taking in every information and detail of the secretive and disturbing document. He better send it to Yamaki and fast. He hoped that the man will know the ideal course of action to this.

 _August 10th 2019, Camp Juno, near the Regicide Sea, NeoNexus Continent_

Dusk sets upon Camp Juno. Months of planning and preparation has finally led to this. Camp Juno, built right on the coast of the Regicide Sea, is one of the starting points of the largest military assault ever conducted in modern human history and easily for Digimon history: 60,000 men and 200,000 digimon troops will cross the sea by air assaults and amphibious landings; the IDDF is also awaiting 200,000 more men as their reserves. In Camp Juno, there is almost 5,000 men on the dock with hundreds of armoured vehicles. Troops, vehicles and supplies were all embarking in the dozen GigaSeadramon awaiting at the shore, part of the Deep Savers' 34th Logistical Corps. Meanwhile, paratroopers of different nations were boarding in their aircrafts such as the Kawasaki C-1, the Airbus A400M Atlas, the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III and the famous Lockheed C-130 Hercules.

Marines and Army soldiers worked dutifully and tiredlessly on the preparation of the beach assault. The paratroopers will go first behind enemy line, capturing key locations to cut off enemy communications and supply lines, supported by the air forces. Then the main assault force will capture the beaches of the Imperial Golden Shore. If the first phase of the assault is successful, then the IDDF will install F. in the area and move on to the second phase of the operation.

In an hour, the air forces will begin their initial strikes and bombardments. At 2230 hours, the paras will begin their mission and at 2400 hours it will be the beach landing assault. The dock was busy and crowded with military personnels, working on last minute preparations before D-Day. Men and women were nervous, anxious and determined, pumped up to finally put an end to this conflict. This will be a long and difficult road, but every sacrifice made will be worth it. They all knew that.

To ease the minds and hearts of his Marines, Raymond decided to give them a motivational speech. Standing on top of an AAVP-7A1 and gazing at his company. Dukeman followed suit, standing next to him and used his bellowing voice.

"MARINES OF ALPHA COMPANY!" The entire company stopped their idle chatter and stared at their C.O with respect and admiration, awaiting for him to speak.

The gunnery-sergeant's holler also caught the attention of some of the nearby soldiers and digimon, notably the Royal Knights.

"Marines, as your Captain for almost two years now, I want to give you all a small speech to put in your mind before we go to combat."

"This battalion, this company has fought in Tokyo... Has crossed the gate to Dawnstar Hill... Defended Iarica against two whole Legions... Defeated the enemy in the fucking Forest Zone... Battled the fucking D-Brigade in the Metal Empire... Brought back a fucking nuke from the Jungle Zone... Took out whole divisions of Imperials in a fucking desert in Operation Anvil... And now, we're going deep in enemy territory where we will destroy and bring them to Hell!"

"OORAH!" The Marines cried proudly and courageously.

"Marines, I have been your Company Commander during these years. It has been the proudest years of my fucking miserable life. And there is no place I'd rather be than being in combat on the frontlines with all of you, leading you into battle. We've trained hard and fought a lot. I've been tough on you and now you're all battle-hardened and tough motherfuckers. Don't forget where we came from and what we fight for. We are about to add another battle in the records of Alpha Company, 1st Digital Marines Battalion, 5th Marines." Raymond took a deep breath, observing his Marines, he could see their confidence and their eagerness to go to battle.

"Before we go, I want to say a quick prayer," He bowed his head and so were the Marines, man and digimon. Eventhough Raymond wasn't a religious man, he knew that a little prayer will reassure the minds of his Marines and Digimon.

"Dear Lord, protect all of these Marines and Sailors as we go forth into battle against the enemy.

Protect each and one of us,

Give us the strenght to push through the most challenging mission we have yet.

To defeat the enemy and free this world from tyranny.

And dear God, bring all of us home alive.

In your name, we pray. Amen."

Raymond gazed back at his Marines, he saw in their eyes the fiery passion and determination that have pushed these men to go above and beyond the call of duty, to go through Hell and back again. They were his Marines, his Devil Dogs. And he was goddamn proud of them.

"Alright gents, that's all I've got. Retreat Hell!"

"RETREAT HELL!" They all shouted unanimously.

As the Marines dispersed to prepare themselves for the invasion, the Royal Knights observed the captain with respect and admiration, his speech certaintly did an effect on them.

"I wish I could've come up with that." Alphamon jokingly said, impressed of Raymond's speech.

"Yeah, that got me pumped now!" Said Dynasmon enthusiastically, slapping his fists together.

"I think I'm in love." RhodoKnightmon stated passionately, earning him deadpan looks from the others.

"Well, I'll be brief then," Began the Aloof Hermit, staring at his knights, "This is one final push for peace and security in our world. With their help we can finally put an end to this conflict. Let that fire in you burn and win this fight. The world is counting on us. Towards danger, we go..."

"With duty and honour!" Came in their reply, the Royal Knights slammed their left fists to their hearts, a sign of dedication of their hearts, minds and souls for the security of the Network and Digital World. They then split up, joining with their assigned task forces.

Dozens of attack jets fly pass the docks, the men and digimon cheering at them by shouting and waving their hands, biding good luck to the pilots and hoping the death of their enemies.

And so, Operation Normandy begins. The clock starts to tick...

* * *

 **Author's Note: SALUUUUT! I'm back! Boy, did I made some changes; first off: how's your holiday? Good? (I've been fine myself). Second: Updates should come at a regular but slower rate, chapters will be longer and I hope they'll be better... Well depends to you of course. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter and feel free to review, all criticism is accepted, it could be useful and always appreciated :D. With that said and done; Bonne continuation!**


	29. Chapter 28

Chapter 28:

Operation Normandy _(Part 1)_

Red lights turned green. The signal to drop was a go. The platoon leader pointed at the side doors of the aircraft, leading the men to the dark abyss. The men jumped out, feeling the rush of adrenaline in them. The Digital night sky was filled with hundreds of olive drab parachutes. Suddenly, the sky lit up with bright striking and blasting flashes launched by the ground forces. The sounds of war began, echoing in the distant sea and countrysides. The local inhabitants were awaken by surprise. Fear and panic spread out as they quickly evacuated their village and town as far away from the ongoing conflict as possible. It was the night when the digital sky was set ablazed.

Planes were being shot, wings clipped or a direct hit from flak rounds, setting the metal birds into a ball of flames and steel. Others plunged themselves to their dooms, leaving a trail of black smoke before crashing into the fields and disfiguring the landscape. Men had their chute cut to pieces by shrapnel, falling helplessly to their deaths while some were peppered by the anti-air rounds, dead bodies still in the air as they slowly hit the ground. It rained blood and fire that night.

Once boots hit the ground, another challenge came up for the paratroopers of the coalition: capture and hold key locations. Told many times and true to their words, capturing was easy, a small squad can simply hold a small part of a town, fight for a few minutes before the whole company was present and push further deep. However holding it will be hard, especially for a long period of time. Anything can happen in sixty minutes. A squad can hold itself pretty well against Champion level digimon but against a Mega level, even one, it was suicide. By experience, it is impossible for a single rifleman or a squad to defeat such digimon, no matter how smart, trained or equipped for the fight. A platoon was the bare minimum, air or artillery support is highly recommended.

Hitting the grass with a soft grunt, Leading Private Eiji Marawti took off his chute and quickly folded the cloth and tucked it back on the parachute's rucksack. Picking his FN Minimi light machine gun, he ran across the field towards his objective, silent in the chaotic night. The Japanese paratroopers of 4th Company, 2nd Infantry Battalion, 1st Airborne Brigade gathered themselves in the forest, South of the small town of Bing.

 _"Who uses Bing in 2019?"_ Thought Eiji, finding the name ridiculous to him.

His platoon commander, Second Lieutenant Taiki Sasagawi, was getting a brief sitrep from their Captain. The paratroopers all lined up at the edge of the woodland, hiding below the trees and behind the bushes, completely invisible thanks to the thick shadows casted by the pine trees.

Bing was a small town of 1,000 digimon, 200 imperials are currently defending it from their potential invaders. The settlement was surrounded by flimsy wooden fences. A vast cereal field was located to the West of the town. Brief flashes of lights came from the town followed by striking green strobes shooting upwards. These were the anti-air units the paratroopers need to destroy.

A minute later, the platoon commanders came back to their respective units and began the assault. Simultaneously, the men got up and ran across the lone silent paved road to the wooden fence wall. Once it was deemed safe to get over it, the paratroopers jumped over the wooden structure and ran a couple of meters before hitting their backs against the nearby houses. The houses at the edge of the town were being searched, the soldiers bust the doors open and went in. If proven empty then the house will be occupied, if it has civilian presences, they would leave as fast as they went in.

A quarter of an hour passed and a quarter of the town is under JSDF control. Cautiously walking through the main road leading to the town center, Eiji's platoon came across a crossroad. Taiki lifted his hand up, the troops instantly went for cover against the nearby civilian structures. Then a loud crack broke the tense silence followed by a sickening splash noise. A heavy thud echoed on the street. The lieutenant has been hit, head blown off by enemy sniper.

"Contact front!" Shouted First Sergeant Katsumoto while the men opened fired at the general direction.

Under suppressive fire, a combat medic and another soldier ran to the lieutenant's body, retrieving him and pulling his body back into friendly line.

"Sniper on the second house across the crossroad!" Informed a sergeant, "Upper left window-"

Another shot snapped, this time piercing the NCO's throat, erupting a small rain of blood onto the street. He spasmed uncontrollably as his body tried to stay alive, a thick river of the crimson liquid flooded out of his neck and decorated the road, shined by the moonlight. Suddenly, gunfire spurred out of nowhere, the enemy ambushed them, pinning them with superior firepower with their artillery batteries zeroing on their position. Two more soldiers fell to the enemy sniper in under a minute.

"Marawti! Suppress that window!" Ordered the senior NCO.

Shouldering his LMG, Eiji fired small bursts of 5.56mm rounds at the small window. The streets were filled with multiple tracers flying in every direction, firefights erupted within the town. A round barely missed his head. By instinct he ducked and fired at the direction from where the bullet came. More rounds snapped near him, he dropped on the ground and crawled his way to safety inside a house.

Catching his breath, he took a peek at the house at the otherside of the street. One soldier was shouldering an AT-4 rocket launcher while two of his buddies provided some suppressive fire on the sniper's location. He decided to join them and risked a step outside. Ignoring a bullet that zipped his helmet, he opened fired at the general direction, covering fire for the rocket launcher wielding trooper.

"Backblast clear!" He shouted as he crounched down, "Firing!"

The area around them shook heavily as the rocket sailed out of the tube. A violent explosion echoed throughout the crossroad as the building where the sniper was residing crumbled on itself, the entire second floor caved in, releasing a cloud of dust. The three men team cheered before they got interrupted by a louder explosion. Bursting through the destroyed building and out of the dust cloud was a tall mechanical digimon, the heavy cannons on its back lifted up and faced the humans' direction. A slow mechanical whir emanated from the two cannons, the digimon ignored the bullets that bounced harmlessly off of its thick metal hide.

"MugenDramon! Everyone get the fuck out of here!" Shouted Eiji' squad leader, Sergeant Hideo Ackerman.

Without a second to waste, the platoon fell back hurriedly, carrying the wounded and the dead while others provided cover fire. Eiji spread fire until he ran out of ammo. Swearing, he crouched and reloaded his machine gun. A gasp was heard behind him. He turned around and spotted a private on the ground, holding onto his right leg. His knee shattered in pieces caused by a large bullet. The trooper shakingly tried to apply bandage around the wound. Eiji abandonned his primary weapon and offered a hand to the wounded trooper. He took the roll of bandage and wrapped the wound. He then picked the man's right arm and heaved him up, lifting him onto his shoulders and carrying him. Focusing on getting the soldier to safety, Eiji kept running, barely dodging enemy fire as they fly by their heads.

Suddenly, Eiji felt a powerful shockwave throwing him away like paper. Everything went black for two solid minutes. He slowly regained consciousness and observed his surroundings. The street was filled with craters, bullet casings and bodies of his fellow comrades, rivers of blood filled the street. At the other end of the road, he could hear enemy soldiers approaching his position. Drawing out his sidearm, he prepped a frag grenade after he quickly crawled in a broken building.

The ground shook as he noted that the MugenDramon was on the move. Several hostile troopers ran pass him, unaware of his presence. Steeling himself to make a final stand, he pulled the grenade's safety pin, counting down to three and tossed it out through a shattered window.

"Grenade!" An unknown digimon soldier yelled in panic before cries of pain came after the blast.

Peeking out of the window, Eiji drew his pistol out and aimed at the first digimon. It was an Exveemon, he fired two shots to the chest, the bipedal dragon went down but not dead. He shifted to the right, two Troopmon just noticed the downed Exveemon. Four shots were fired, two Troopmon lied down on the ground while their data slowly flying away. A Commandramon jumped through the other window in the room ahead of him. He turned the pistol just in time to put a stop to the digimon's bayonet charge. The body fell with a loud thud. An enemy trooper lobbed a grenade in the house, the fragmentation explosive landed on his lap. He immediately threw it back outside.

He then heard frantic footsteps on the upper floor. Nervous, he constantly watched the other room and the staircase. His hand holding the Minebea P9 trembled in fear. At the corner of his eyes, he noticed three shadows on top of the staircase. He quickly snapped his pistol to the staircase but before he could pull the trigger, he took a dozen rounds to the chest and head. The imperial troopers went down and observed cautiously his lifeless body. One of them kicked it and spat on it in disgust.

* * *

Inside GigaSeadramon "0-6", the Marines were all sat inside their designated AAV, waiting anxiously to land on "Juliet" beach. There were no idle chat, no smoking, no random laughter, just silence except for the low whir of machines of the digimon's insides. Every Marine had a stoic, blank expression on their face, focusing on the mission than anything else. Two years they have been through in the Digital World and now they are going in the most dangerous operation in their lives. They know for a fact that the Imperium will throw their best at them. Six battle-hardened and well-trained Legions await them at their doors. This is their home turf, after all, and they will make sure to destroy the humans to the very last breath, like a cornered animal, if that animal was a digital being that can be twice or more times stronger than a professional human soldier. This will get ugly.

The dim lights that were displayed along Gigadramon's spine turned red as the alarms blared at the Marines below, signaling them to prepare for landing. AAV ramps were closed shut, LAVs closed their rear doors, their engines turned on, weapons at the ready, rifles and machine guns lock and loaded, charging handles were pulled before releasing a mechanical snap, rounds chambered and ready to fire. Marines bid their friends good luck while others prayed one last time. The alarms still went on, muffled inside the armoured personel carrier.

The sea was surprisingly quiet. The sounds of war was in mainland, most of the imperial troops were sent back to retake the towns and villages now under IDDF control. Not to mention that their supply lines were cut off by other digimon militaries such as the Royal Knights and the Jungle Troopers to name a few. However war will soon reach the bored and anxious soldiers of the Imperium garrisoned in their bunkers built along the coastline.

Private Andromon was one of those soldiers. Sitting on a crate, observing the waves and sand as he stood guard. He envied those who were sent to fight the enemy head-on but alas he knew that his role was as important as theirs. If only the enemy could be here now, he thought. He doesn't need to wait long as his wish will soon come true, one that he'll immediately regret.

Plumes of smoke suddenly shot up, straight out of the sea. Surprised, Andromon's mouth hung open, not believing his eyes. More smokes appear out of the water as they slowly cover the entire beach, impossible to notice the gigantic sea dragons that were slowly emerging out of the water.

GigaSeadramon 0-6's side ramps opened, filling his body with water until it half submerged the human vehicles inside him.

"Disembark!" He ordered them with his deep voice.

The vehicles steered to either sides, sailing out of his body and directing themselves towards the coast. Meanwhile, the giant sea serpent launched a series of energy torpedoes at the enemy coastal defenses, destroying heavily dug trenches and fortified bunkers to pieces and rumbles. Then like the others, he fired a wave of H.E shells at the enemy to further break their defenses.

"Good luck!" He said to the Marines as they reach for the beach.

The passenger compartment in the AAV shook roughly as it made contact with land. It stopped and slowly opened the rear ramp. The turret gunner on the MK-19 provided suppressive fire for the Marines to disembark. Once it was fully open, the Marines rushed out and dived on the sand, crawling their way through the "dragon's teeth" fortifications installed by the imperials.

The imperials got barely the time to respond or even breathe due to the devastating attacks launched by the GigaSeadramon. Their first line of defense over the sand dunes followed by three trench lines, now crawling with Marines as they clear the trenches swiftly and effectively. In the trenches, close quarters firefights and hand-to-hand combat ensued in a chaotic and claustrophobic environment. Men stabbed, shot, bashed and slashed their digimon opponents. It took ten minutes for the machine guns in the remaining bunkers to retaliate, covering fire for the retreating troops to the second line of defense.

Jumping down on the trench, Flamedramon spun to his right and opened fire at three legionaires, the bullets piercing through armour and tearing flesh apart. All three bodies fell, thick rivers of blood leaking out of their bullet riddled body before disappearing into data particles. His squad were close behind him, clearing the left side of the trench.

"Right side clear!" He shouted at them.

"Left side clear!" They shouted back.

"Third Squad on me to the right, we're clearing the bunker!"

On cue, the Marines followed him through the narrow trench, short firefights erupted along the line. Once arriving upon the bunker, the Marines stacked up on each side of the metal door, Guilmon being the only one facing it, ready to kick the door down.

A Marine prepped a frag grenade and awaited Flamedramon's signal. He nodded firmly.

The red saurian violently shoved the door open, the Marine tossed the hand grenade the second after the door went down with a resounding 'thump'. The small explosive blew up the interior, but for added assurance, Guilmon launched his "Pyro Sphere" attack, erupting the interior with another fiery explosion. Followed by three more Marines, the red Digimon went in head first to clear the bunker.

"Bunker clear!" He hollered.

The first hour of the landing has passed and there was more ground to go. The Marines piled in their trenches, firing hot lead and grenades in retaliation.

Too focused on stalling the Marines in the trenches, the imperials were letting more troops and armour to pour on the beach. Battle tanks and LAVs arrived in support, pounding the enemy bunkers with H.E shells and heavy machine gun rounds. Adding to their firepower and manpower, digimon foot soldiers from the coalition landed on the beach eventually outnumbering and outgunning the imperials.

Progress on the beaches became faster. Half an hour later, the second defensive line fell. Other beaches were completely under friendly coalition control. The imperial troops were being encircled and their reinforcements cut off.

Raymond led his Marines over the small hill of ruined bunkers and destroyed trenches. Setting foot to mainland, an artillery field was left for them to capture or destroy. Aided with the digimon and their armour, he rallied up his Marines. Their faces were covered in grime, sweat, sand and blood but in their eyes they still had the will to fight once more. And into the fray, they go, charging the enemy as angry Marines, weapons at the ready and bayonets fixed at the end of the barrel; they charged like they were taught to, drilled and trained in harsh conditions to become what they truly are: Jarheads, LeatherNecks, Devil Dogs, Marines. Few and Proud.

* * *

Dawn came up, basking the DigiWorld in its warm glow. The trails of black smoke dotted the once peacefully landscape. A calm silence filled the air. The wind gently swayed the grassy hills, pine and oak forest, and cereal fields. Big waves washed over the shores, slowing cleaning the beach from the war. Dead bodies, vehicle wrecks, bullet casings and other military equipments littered the sand. The waves pushed and pulled them back into the sea.

Heavy footsteps splashed near the water as men pulled the dead bodies back to land and lined them a few meters away. As the men gathered the dead, a medic and a chaplain identified the deceased and gave them a prayer, respectively. More amphibious vehicles rolled out of the water and onto the sand, dropping off supplies or men to the makeshift Forward Operating Base. Further deep in land, gun fire echoed in the background but the fight was almost over.

The paratroopers of the IDDF were gunning down the imperial scouts, holding the town for their reinforcements to come.

At the head of the Marine line was the Firefly Squadron, the three M1A3 Abrams battle tanks trudged across the grassy and flowering fields that surrounded the small town. Crushing fence and beautiful velvet flowers under its tread, Firefly 3 scanned the surroundings, the main turret spinning on its own while the infantry jogged behind its armoured hide.

Not too far from the squadron was Ironhorse Squadron, tasked as an overwatch squadron for the Marines.

"Alright, Joseph, keep it at a steady pace." Instructed Second Lieutenant Baker while he updates his radio.

 _"All Firefly, this is Firefly 1, checking in."_

 _"Affirmative, Firefly 2, checking in."_

"Affirmative, Firefly 3, checking in."

 _"Firefly to Ironhorse, all Firefly checking in, how copy, over."_

 _"Copy, Firefly, all Ironhorse checking in, over."_

 _"Copy that, Ironhorse."_

"Now that we've done that, let's keep our eyes open for any hostiles."

"Copy that!" Answered the tank driver, Corporal Joseph.

"My eyes are wide open, chief." Chimed the tank gunner, Sergeant Miller.

 _"To all Fireflies, halt position."_ Blared the radio inside the compartment.

The tank took a sudden halt on the dirt road, the infantry kept moving forward a few meters ahead before stopping in their tracks, taking defensive firing stances on the field.

 _"Alright gents,"_ Began the squadron leader, _"We just got intel that the Japs have encountered a MugenDramon. For those who don't know what that is; it's basically one tall and huge robot motherfucker packing with a lot of guns. Be extremely careful if you see one."_

 _"With that said, break formation and spread out, encircle the town and destroy any hostiles on sight. The infantry will storm the town. Rendez-vous at the other side with the paras. Good luck, Firefly 1, over and out."_

"You heard the man, Joseph!" Miller said, eyes focused on the main gun.

"Yup, breaking formation." The driver replied.

Just as the Marine formation was about to move out, gunshots erupted around them, the foot soldiers hit the deck and returned fire blindly.

High pitched 'pings' hit the tank but did little to no damage to their superior armour. Baker got on his computer and controlled the M2 Browning machine gun, suppressing possible enemy positions with 12.7mm rounds.

"Hey, gunner!" He called out loudly, "Enemy MG position on the far left, behind those tree lines, hundred fifty meters!"

"On it!" Miller shouted back, turning the turret to the designated area.

Barely covered by thick foliages, machine gun muzzle flashes could be seen through the bushes with faint silhouettes of more enemy foot mobiles.

"I've got eyes on them, spotted couple more foot mobiles." He reported, "I'm gonna need H.E for this!"

"Copy, load H.E!" On cue, the crew's tank loader, Sergeant Finley, quickly placed an H.E shell in the main gun. "H.E, up!" He yelled back.

"On the way!" Miller screamed and stomped on the foot activated trigger.

A violent 'whump' rocked the tank backwards. The high explosive shell soared across the field and landed just in front of the treelines with a resounding 'boom', shooting up a large plume of dirt and blowing apart the trees.

"That's a hit!" Confirmed Baker with a smile. "Joseph, move forward a hundred meters, off the road!"

"Yes sir!"

As ordered, the tank veered at little bit to the side, off the road and onto the field of flowers while the infantry pushed towards the town. Gunshots could be heard faintly in the tank, the tank commander and gunner spun their turrets around to spot any enemy positions.

"I've got eyes on enemy infantry, half a dozen, straight ahead at three hundred meters." Reported Miller.

"Waste them." Baker simply ordered.

"Engaging." Switching to the secondary gun, the co-axial M240 machine gun, Miller aimed the weapon at the proned enemy squad, slowly crawling their way behind a small fox hole.

Pressing on the trigger, he let out short bursts of bullets at them, pinning them down. Baker joined in and disposed of them with the more powerful and lethal rounds.

"Infantry down." Miller reported.

"Roger, driver, move forward two hundred meters more."

Continuing on their advance, the tank mowed down several enemy squads and machine gun positions but have yet to encounter a real danger. Going over a small hill, the crew had a clear sight on one side of the town, spotting friendly troops battling in the streets.

"Okay, Joseph, let's close in with the others, turn right and move up two hundred meters, we should be at the edge of the town."

"Moving!"

The crew felt the tank swirved to the right, the main turret still had its main gun pointed at the opposite direction. The massive mechanical beast jerked forward and trudged on the field, crushing the flowers and dirt with its treads before coming back on the road.

A dozen or so meters ahead was Firefly 2, assisting the infantry against a barricaded enemy position. Suddenly a bright streak of light soared at them, scraping the side armour of the turret. The bullet bounced up into the air upon impact.

"Holy shit!" Joseph exclaimed in disbelief upon witnessing the scene.

"Firefly 2, this is Firefly 3, are you alright there?" Baker asked them through his headset.

 _"Firefly 3, Firefly 2, we're fine, the crew's a little bit shaken but well. That must've been a 20mm."_

"Any idead where that came from?"

 _"Affirmative, it's on the field behind the church but I can't have sight on it. You should be able to see it from your angle."_

"Roger that. Be careful, Firefly 2, I don't want you go down in a blaze of glory... not yet." Baker added with a dark grin.

 _"Will do, Firefly 3, just don't go ahead and destroy everything and end the mission in five minutes."_ The tank commander shot back jokingly.

"Can't make that promise." He ended the small talk and returned his sight on the machine gun, "Joseph, I want you to drive slowly on the stone road, Miller, peek right." He instructed.

On command, the M1A3 Abrams moved slowly forwards, the turret spun around while barely dodging a house to the side.

"Okay, now move up close to that orange house to the right, give us line of sight on the hill."

Once in position behind the civilian house, Baker observed the hill for the enemy.

"Enemy tank spotted!" Miller shouted, "Over the hill, flanked by two dozen foot mobiles, more or less!"

"Firefly 2, this is Firefly 3, be advised, we have an enemy tank along with two dozen foot mobiles just over the hill, we're engaging them now!" Baker informed before checking his machine gun.

"Load Sabot!" In less than twenty seconds, the requested shell was armed.

"Sabot up!"

"Engaging enemy tank... on the way!"

A resounding 'whump' jerked the tank. The Sabot shell shot across the hill and hit its target on the arm, blowing it apart.

"That's a hit!" Miller shouted.

"Enemy tank down!" Baker confirmed, "Nice job!"

"Engaging enemy troops."

The combined firepower of both the M240 and M2 Browning quickly disposed of the rest of the enemy infantry.

Firefly 2 and 3 took their position on the Northern border of the town alongside the JSDF paratroopers. A small church was to their side, still standing despite the beating it took from both friendly and enemy forces.

The Marines received intel from the JSDF that an enemy counter-attack was inbound soon, but so far nothing happened. The men took over the fox holes and sandbag formations displayed around the church and waited for the eventual attack.

Both Baker and Finley opened their top hatches and inspected their heavy machine gun and M240, respectively. Miller had his eyes glued on the gunner sight while Joseph was idly eating a bag of chocolate biscuits.

"MG's up, sir." Finley reported after racking the charching handle.

"Mine's also locked and loaded." Baker told him, using both strenght and speed to rack the Browning up, a satisfying mechanical 'snap' rang through his ears.

While checking around him, Finley toyed around with his stress ball, squeezing it constantly to calm his nerves. His eyes merely glanced the bell tower on the church before immediately staring back at it in surprise. He could faintly spot a dark shadow on the bell tower, cautiously leaning down.

"wait- uh sir... is that friendly or hosti-"

A muzzle flash appeared at the tower, followed by a deafening and distinct 'crack' in the air. A streak of light shot out of the barrel and hit a paratrooper on the shoulder. The wounded man dropped on the ground before his squadmates opened fire relentlessly at the tower.

"Fuck sniper!" The Sergeant yelled before both of them ducked their heads under the hatch.

The infantry kept on suppressing the tower until Firefly 2 aimed its main gun at it. A thunder clap rocked the air, the high explosive shell annihilated the erected structure, collapsing on the church's roof.

The Japanese soldiers cheered at the destruction while a combat medic took care of the wounded. Baker and Finley perked their head out in hesitation before laughing for no reason, probably glad that their head didn't took a bullet.

The paratroopers ceased their cheering when they noticed that the ground trembled lightly. They soon realised that the counter-attack was about to come. They ran into their positions and waited for the enemy. Everyone in Firefly 3 prepared themselves for the enemy. Focusing on the hill, they could see several dozen enemy troops advancing on their position. They were greatly outnumbered, but not outgunned. The JSDF lit up the hill, hails of lead gunned down the line of imperials. Firefly 2 pounded the hill while Firefly 3 continued on firing with their machine guns.

A menacing silhouette behind the hill caught their attention and it got bigger. Once over the hill, a massive cyborg creature stood intimidatingly over the imperial troopers. The MugenDramon calmly scanned the battlefield. It readied its two massive cannons and aimed at Firefly 2.

The paratroopers quickly scattered around while Firefly 2 tried to fire back at the colossal metallic digimon.

"Mugen Cannon!" The digimon bellowed as it fired two energy blasts.

The energy projectiles envelopped the tank, ending the crew with it in a large explosion. Several paratroopers were caught in the powerful blasts, completely gone from sight.

"Fuck, Joseph back away now!"

The remaining tank suddenly jerked backwards as Baker and Finly struggled to get back in the vehicle.

"Finley, load Sabot!" Miller urged him.

"On it!" Finley quickly loaded a Sabot shell in the chamber then armed it, "Sabot up!"

"Send it!" Miller yelled and stomped the trigger.

After the first shot, Finley immediately loaded another Sabot shell. "Sabot up!"

"That's a hit but target' still up!" Miller informed them dreadfully.

MugenDramon's sights were now on them, tasked and fueled with anger to destroy the tank.

"Ah shit! It's pissed at us!" Joseph said in panic.

"Ironhorse, this is Firefly 3, requesting immediate support here!"

 _"Copy, Firefly 3, we're on the way, hold tight!"_

"Firefly 1, this is Firefly 3, Firefly 2 is down and we're taking heavy enemy fire!" Baker informed quickly.

"On the way!" Miller screamed as he fired the main gun. The Sabot shell hit MugenDramon but did light damage.

"Driver, get us on the field!" Baker ordered.

"And get us in the open?!" Finley asked with surprise in his voice.

"We need Ironhorse to have visual on it" The tank commander explained loudly.

"We are so going to die here..." Corporal Joseph grumbled.

The tank sped out of the road and onto the destroyed grass field under heavy enemy attack. MugenDramon took the bait and followed the tank, blasting away large chunks of the landscape into smoking craters. Firefly 3 fired back, managing only to deal light damage or glacing hits.

Just as MugenDramon zeroed in on them, three Sabot shells hit it straight on the head and chest. Dazed, it spun its massive head sideways and spotted the three tanks, unleashing barrages of shells and rounds at the imperials.

Distracted, Firefly 3 took this advantage to circle around the massive metal beast, main gun targetting its back and cannons.

"Sabot up!"

"On the way!"

"Eat it!" Joseph cried in determination.

The tank jerked backwards, a thunderous 'crack' pierced the air. The shell penetrated the digimon's weakened back, hitting the ammunation depot and ending the beast's life in a fiery and resounding explosion while Ironhorse squadron pounded it with additional firepower.

"Wooo! Fuck yeah!" Miller screamed joyfully.

"Take that you motherfucker!" Finley added.

 _"Firefly 3, this is Ironhorse, good fucking job on that, we almost got our asses roasted."_

With the main threat taken care of, the Marines and JSDF paratroopers were able to push back the enemy counter-attack, once again reclaiming control over the town "Bing".

* * *

As morning went on, more men and supplies arrived, eventually helicopters and jets regularly fly pass above the newly established military base. As of right now, the base is comprised of only tents and trenches and sandbags for fortifications. Firing positions dotted the grass fields, lined up with kilometers of barbed wires along the defensive line. Roads that connected with the beach were now blocked by heavily guarded checkpoints. Battle tanks were lined up along the firing positions to provided heavy support for the infantry along with the mortar teams. Thus the IDDF secures a foothold in the country.

The human forces decided to take a break on the assault, building the military bases while their digimon allies moved up to further stall enemy resistance and acted as the IDDF's vanguards. Special forces and reconnaince units were deployed to scout out the area or to destroy certain imperial supply lines to cripple the enemy.

A convoy of light armoured vehicles slowly trudged the silent street of Bing, flanked by a line of Marines as they wave their weapons around, scanning meticulously their surroundings. They were informed that the town was under IDDF control, however they have just encountered small resistance by a small squad of imperial survivors.

Ahead of his squad, Sergeant Flamedramon peeked into a broken window of a half destroyed building. He presumed it to be a kitchen and hopped in, two of his Marines followed suit. The kitchen was a mess and ruined, a pool of blood stained the ceramic tiles, he assumed to be a fallen digimon. He opened the burnt door that leads to the main corridor. He was disgusted by the sight that greeted him next to the staircase. One of the Marines gasped in shock and covered his nose and mouth. There was a human body next to the stair case that leads to the second floor, it was a Japanese paratrooper. His cold right hand held firmly his sidearm, his face was disfigured by numerous bullet holes, his torso was filled gaping blood wounds, profusely flooding out rivers of blood that tainted the corpse's uniform.

"Son of a bitch..." The blue digimon muttered nauseously, the air smelled of decay and gun powder. Flamedramon knelt before the dead paratrooper and took his dogtags.

"What are you doing, sergeant?" Asked one of his Marines curiously.

"I figure his relatives will want to know what happened to him. At least he won't be forgotten in the list of MIAs" He explained sincerely.

 _"1-3, this is 1-Actual, what's the status on your end?"_

"1-Actual, "Giga" Street is clear so far. How copy?" Reported through his radio dutifully.

 _"Solid copy, 1-3. Meet up with the rest of the platoon at "Tango" Square, we have a new mission update."_ Instructed Second Lieutenant Nick Sparks.

"Roger that, we're Oscar-Mike, over." He shut his radio and turned to his Marines, "Mission update, we're moving back to Tango Square, let's hope it's something interesting."

With the squad leaders gathered around him, Second Lieutenant Sparks gave them the current sitrep for their next mission:

"Alright gents, the situation has taken quite a twist, if I can even call it like that;" He then points at the map displayed on the wooden table in the middle of the group. "At 0800 hours, Command received reports of refugees arriving at Checkpoint Charlie, they were originally a few dozen but right now we're counting a few hundreds across our first defensive line," He looked back at the squad leaders, "The Battalion Commander wants us to control the influx of refugees, check them and add them to a list, the Deep Savers will handle the rest from here."

Flamedramon raised his hand to which he accords with a nod, "Are we going to establish refugee camps, sir?"

"They will, not us," He clarified bluntly, "Any other questions?"

"Who should we let in?" Asked another sergeant concernly, "If we're talking about hundreds of civilians, the enemy can slip by us and it will be like the Middle East all over again." The others expressed their concerns, not wanting to deal with another insurgency.

"We do not know, Command doesn't want them but our allies have expressed their disagreement and want them in. The profiles we should look out for is still unspecified." Sparks answered regretfully, also not liking their current situation.

After a small moment of silence, he concluded the mission brief and instructed them to their specific tasks. Flamedramon's squad was assigned to Checkpoint Hotel, just a few klicks West of the town.

The heat became unbearable once again when noon strikes. Under the intense summer heat, Flamedramon's squad was checking and directing a small line of civilians to the medical site built a hundred meters further back in friendly lines.

The day was uneventful but tiresome. Food and water was distributed to those in need. The Marines calmly instructed the refugees to follow their commands. Fortunately for everyone, the fight was now farther away from the beachhead, the digimon coalition decided to push back the enemy.

Guilmon, now manning the fifty caliber on the L-ATV, drank the last drop of his water bottle before wiping the sweat away from his forehead. Huffing out of annoyance, he glanced at the civilians and occasionally gave them a friendly wave or smile. The digimon would usually greet the humans with a grateful bow or praise. This was no exception to Flamedramon and Guilmon, admired by many as they became quite popular in the DigiWorld, praised as the digimon's champions. Ironic that they stole that title from the Royal Knights.

Flamedramon sat in the vehicle, listening carefully to the communication's traffic on the radio. With the door open, he had one leg out with his tail to get some of the gentle breeze. He finished up his third bottle before waving in a friendly manner at a local digimon.

"We're pretty famous here..." Guilmon pointed out with a small smile.

"Yep... don't know if it is for a good reason though." Flamedramon remarked pessimistically. "Woah, sorry about that," He apologised sheepishly after a quick reflection on what he stated previously, "I have no idea where that came from."

"I think you've spent too much time with us, Sergeant!" Lance Corporal Andrian Curtis said jokingly. The digimon NCO laughed before the radio blared at him.

 _"Alpha 1-3, this is Alpha 1-Actual, what's the sitrep?"_

"1-Actual, this is 1-3, we have just gotten through, uh, four dozen civilians. A couple more are on the way, sir." Flamedramon reported dutifully.

 _"Alright, 1-3, I've got new orders. A squad of the Dramon Republic has been ambushed and need a quick evac for a wounded. They are located just one klick ahead, in the forest to the left of the intersection. The wounded is stabilised and the imps held off. How copy?"_

"Solid copy, 1-Actual. 1-3 Oscar-Mike to the objective point. We'll extract the wounded and exfil back to the checkpoint."

 _"Good luck and safe travel."_

Ending the comms, he tapped the top of the L-ATV loudly. "Third Squad! We're moving out!" His Marines got in their vehicles and waited further orders, "We have a simple medical extract and exfil mission. We're heading to the forest one klick ahead of the town."

"Medical Extract? That doesn't sound like us, Sergeant." The driver, Corporal Will Anderson, remarked with humour.

"Well someone has to do it." Flamedramon replied sarcastically before the convoy of three vehicles moved out, leaving the task of managing the civilians to Second squad.

Barely three minutes have passed that the convoy reached the forest, from there, it took a lone dirt road leading deeper in the forest. Moving at a slower pace, the Marines kept their eyes open and weapons ready, prepared to fight off an ambush. Guilmon naturally sniffed the air for any presence in the woods, friendly or hostile. He picked up a scent and recognised the digimon, on the specie basis, not personal basis.

"ExVeemon up ahead, a hundred meters." He informed the others, shifting the Browning turret to the general direction.

Later on, an ExVeemon was in the middle of the road, waving his arms at the convoy with relief. "Oi, mates! Over here!" He shouted at them.

"How come he's Australian?" Asked Corporal Anderson, half-joking, half-serious.

"Just stop here." Flamedramon instructed straightly, preferring dodging a stupid conversation with the driver.

The convoy stopped near him and the Marines got out, a fire team followed Flamedramon and the ExVeemon, adorning a breastplate made from a special alloy of steel digizoid, created and distributed by a world-known weapons and equipment manufacturer.

They've made into a small clearing deeper in the woods where other digimon formed a defensive perimeter around the wounded.

"She's hurt pretty badly," Explained Sergeant Chief ExVeemon, "Imp blokes took us by surprise. She got hit on the left leg and abdomen, hopefully the bullet didn't hit any vital organs."

Flamedramon glanced at the wounded and felt a faint familiar connection with her. She was a regular WereGarurumon; "She", indicated by the digimon's slightly smaller height and frame to the male counterpart. The WereGarurumon had bandages rolled around her wounded leg and torso but she also had a dirtied, tan and brown coloured scarf around her neck. "It can't be, right?", he thought to himself, denying it at first but one clue confirmed his theory: the BlackRenamon who was helping her stand up and walk.

"Hey, Sergeant, isn't that the Night Rose squad we've met at Dawnstar?" Asked Lance Corporal Curtis, instantly recognising the scout duo.

"Yes, Curt, that's them..." Flamedramon confirmed after an irritated sigh.

BlackRenamon gazed forward and immediately beamed happily at Flamedramon, waving joyfully at him before nudging WereGarurumon. "Hey, isn't that your boyfriend?"

"RENA!" WereGarurumon exclaimed in frustration and blushing madly in embarrassement.

Flamedramon felt his cheeks heat up but dismissed it by looking elsewhere in the woods. "Go help her out, Curtis."

"Yes, Sergeant..." The Marine responded while stiffling his laughter.

After escorting WereGarurumon back to the convoy, Flamedramon was being called back by ExVeemon. "Is something wrong?" He asked curtly and politely.

"Nah, mate. Just wondering if you could do me a favor?" ExVeemon stated innocently, implying it more as a request.

"Alright, what can I do?" Flamedramon replied plainly.

"Can you bring BlackRenamon back to base, she'd earned her rest and she needs to deliver a letter to my mother." The winged dragon told him sheepishly.

"Why can't you just send the letter yourself?" Flamedramon retorted, a bit taken aback by the ridiculous request, "I mean, you've done enough here, the imperials are falling back, what else needs to be done here?"

"Look, mate, I have my orders and you have yours. Now can you please do it?" ExVeemon looked at him with pleading eyes, which only distrubed him even more. Might aswell accept the request and be done with it.

"Fine, call her and we're leaving in thirty seconds." Flamedramon then turned and walked back to his L-ATV.

"Thanks, mate!" The Sergeant Chief responded gratefully and joyfully, "Here, Rena, you've earned it, girl!" He handed her the letter and gave her a quick pat behind her shoulder.

BlackRenamon quickly got in the lead vehicle, sitting right behind Flamedramon. Contrary to a regular Renamon, BlackRenamon were rarer, almost extinct (less than a hundred so far) and they are (or "she is" in this case) much more expressive and socialable but still kept the fighting capabilities that was the prowess and fierce reputation of the Renamon-specie. Respected, known and feared by many, an expressive and friendly BlackRenamon is as dangerous and deadly as a cold and stoic Renamon.

The ride back to the checkpoint had been silent. Firefights were over, the coalition had successfully pushed off the Imperial Legion away from the beaches and the IDDF is now building its bases.

The convoy stopped near one of the medical tents. The Marines helped WereGarurumon out of the transport and walked her to the medics awaiting her.

"Take care!" BlackRenamon waved at her friend who responded with a thumbs up.

The digimon then found herself alone on the dirt road, in the middle of the crowdy and busy medical station where medics and troopers carried supplies or helped the severely wounded soldiers and civilians. Flamedramon's squad has already gone off to the nearby mess hall to grab something to eat and drink. A bit lost, she surveyed her surroundings for a mail post or something of the human equivalent, she knew what it looked like. She decided to follow her guts and her luck, and walked at a random direction.

Military land vehicles, large and small, drove pass her every second. Soldiers shouted orders, urging the others to pick up their pace. On the road there was a constant cloud of dust caused by the passing vehicles.

As she turned around a corner on a dirt intersection, she clumsily bumped into another soldier.

"Crap... sorry-" Having a clear look on who she bumped into, her eyes widened with surprise and mouth hung open.

Facing her was a Renamon, in human combat gear. She wore a scalable plate carrier and a special made radio headset. She had a human sniper rifle hanging behind her back by its straps. BlackRenamon knew her, there could only be one Renamon in the human forces and she was the one. Behind the Renamon were four other soldiers with different combat gear compared to the regular Marines she met.

"Can I help you?" Renamon spoke up curiously. BlackRenamon shook her head back to reality and her eyes shined with admiration.

"Y-You are Renamon!"

"Uh, yeah? Do we know each other?"

"Yes! I mean no! But I know you! Oh by the Gods, I can't believe it!" The BlackRenamon was starting to quiver with excitement as she gets all giddy, "Can I have your autograph?" She asked hopefully.

Renamon was surprised at the request and looked at her teammates for some help. "I think you're a celebrity..." Roach whispered to her. She nodded in confusion and faced the other digimon, "Uh, why do you want my autograph?"

BlackRenamon gasped, as if she said something blasphamous, "You mean, you don't know that you're famous? Digimon talk about your epic tales everywhere!"

"Epic tales, huh?" Renamon was now intrigued and a little bit flattered by her words.

"Yes! I heard you've fended off a hundred of imperials on your own in the Mesozoic Kingdom! Your longest confirmed kill was at 1 300 meters. There was also the report of where you and a small team held off waves of imps behind enemy line and..." BlackRenamon continued to list all of Renamon's exploits as a Force Recon Marine. It disturbed but also flattered her.

"Okay calm down," She cut her off, noticing her darker counterpart was getting a lot more cheery, "Look, I don't do autographs and most of these "tales" are false or misinterpreted." BlackRenamon's ears drooped behind her head in disappointement, "How about I treat you to a meal? You can join us if you want." Renamon offered with a friendly smile.

BlackRenamon yelped with joy and hugged her idol by surprise. "Thank you! Thank you!"

After the initial and unexpected greeting, BlackRenamon followed the team of Force Recon Marines to the mess hall. She made sure to walk beside her admired hero, unable to contain her excitement. ExVeemon is surely going to be jealous of her, she thought happily.

* * *

A week has passed since the beach landings. Things had been relatively quiet for Camp "Sparta", enemy forces have yet to send a massive counter-attack to reclaim their lost territory. Civilian refugees are still present in numerous IDDF bases, the camp was no exception. Villages and towns still laid in ruins, IDDF stated firmly to its allies it will reconstruct civilian infastructures until their bases were fully built, operational and safe from enemy attack.

Since then, supplies were delivered and air dropped on the beaches frequently. The camps expanded rapidly, growing in size little by little. Kilometers upon kilometers of trench networks, firing positions, fox holes, barriers, checkpoints and barbed wires laid across the coastline. In addition to supplies, more troops arrived in the camps, increasing their manpower but also their need in electricity and ressources.

In the joint HQ of Alpha Company and JGSDF' 4th Company, Raymond waited tiredly for the loud coffee machine to finish pouring in his small styrofoam cup. Once done, he added a small cube of sugar and mixed the content with a platic tablespoon. Taking a small careful sip, he cringed immediately after the hot liquid made contact with his tongue, forgetting that digimon coffee tasted somehow worse than the ones he was used too. He added four more cubes to compensate and hide the strong, bitter taste.

"Beggars can't be choosers..." He muttered bitterly as he made his way back to his office, where more paperwork awaits him, for some Goddamn reason.

Walking and sipping his coffee mindlessly, his reflexes were still on edge as he steps half a second back, barely running into someone.

"Sorry, man, didn't- Kuribayashi?"

The brunette's head perked up and her eyes widened with surprise, "Uh? Raymond-san?" She smiled warmly and let a nervous chuckle escape her mouth.

"Hah, long time no see," Raymond started with a friendly smile of his own.

"Yes, a long time." The two of them stood silently, staring at each other before the petite woman coughed to break the ice, "Um, I want to thank you for saving me back in the Metal Empire."

"Oh? Oh! Right... You don't have to. But I'm glad to see you well and fine." He said happily, seemingly forgetting his coffee as he feels much more energetic. Another awkward silence crept between the two before Raymond coughed at his turn.

"Well, um, I need to go, paper work and stuff..."

"Eh? Yeah... Me too. Need to meet Sergeant-Major..." She informed him shyly.

"See you later..."

"Y-You too..."

They awkwardly walked the opposite direction before a question popped in Raymond's mind. He called her and she turned back with a curious raised brow. "You speak English a lot better now, d-did you learn on your own?"

"Eh? Ah no, you should thank Mari for this, she helped me a lot." She explained with another warm smile before waving him goodbye.

As she disappears around the corner at the end of the hallway, Raymond resumed his trek back to his office, throwing ungracefully his cup of coffee in a nearby plastic bin.

A knock on the door interrupted Sergeant-Major Kuwahara from his work. Eyes off the laptop screen, he shifted his gaze to the side and onto the door.

"Come in!" He responded loud enough.

Opening the door, a familiar face beamed at him happily, "Morning, Sergeant-Major!"

"Ah, Kuribayashi, please come in," The older man insisted with a fatherly smile, "How are you feeling?" He asked kindly.

"Ribcages hurt a little but I'm still kicking." She answered truthfully and confidently.

"Glad to hear it. It has been almost a year now."

She sat in front of his desk, relaxing and enjoying its comfort. The Sergeant-Major offered her a small cup of tea, which she gladly took it and thanked him politely. Kurawara sat back behind the laptop with his own cup. After a quick sip, he placed the small cup down on the desk and cleared his throat.

"Have you got any news from my family?" He asked hopefully. Family mails are getting harder to get where they were, the further the main force advances in the Digital World. Before they were in Imperial territory, letters and packages, delivered from Camp Dawnstar, reached them in a few weeks or days. But now, most of the mail delivery services had been closed off for the mean time now, the voyage from the first base to other bases in the world had been quite difficult, dangerous and increasingly too long to receive one. This was largely due to the Digital World's immense size compared to Earth and its ever natural expanse, meaning it was growing little by little every day, possibly already creating a whole new region.

Fortunately for him, however, Kuribayashi got her hands on some of them, legally of course. She took out a small pack of letters, gathered together by a simple rubber band.

"Yes, sir! These are from your children and grandchildren. Don't not worry, I haven't read them." She assured him playfully. She handed the letters to him. He thanked her graciously and stood up from his seat, giving her a friendly warm hug.

"Thank you so much!"

"Don't mention it, sir, just happy to help you out." She replied with a sharp salute before leaving his office, letting him alone to read the various letters from his precious family.

The day went on uneventfully. Kuribayashi reunited with her long time teammates and spent her time with them, catching up. As dusk settles in this part of the Digital World, she found herself wandering mindlessly along the dunes at the rear of the camp. Sandbag formations were laid along the coast, some soldiers stood guard, marching dutifully but with boredom along the line. The beach was still filled with unpacked and untouched military equipment and brand new armoured vehicles. There was little activity on the beach, engineers and soldiers on patrol appeared here and there, but nothing much.

Looking left and right, she made sure her surroundings were clear and stopped in her tracks, facing the gentle waves and beautiful sun set, colouring the skies with different nuances of yellow, orange and red. She simply stared at the scenery, taking the time to admire it. She felt, for the first time in months, at ease, despite the fact the enemy could strike them at any time soon. She hopped over the waist high sandbag wall and sat back on it casually, wanting to stay here a little bit longer.

Eventually, someone was bound to come and interrupt her moment of tranquility.

Hearing soft footsteps, she turned her head to the right, where the sound came from. The footsteps stopped as the figure looks back at her with a surprised gasp.

"Kuribayashi?" Raymond asked with surprise, "Never thought I'll see you here."

"I never thought I'll see you wandering off." She responded back.

He offered her a friendly smile and pointed at the spot next to her, "May I?"

She shrugged in response, "You're an officer, you shouldn't ask me." She stated stoically and gazed back at the sun set.

"That might be true, but that doesn't stop me from asking politely." He shot back with a grin before sitting on the sandbags, "Besides, we shouldn't be sitting here. The guards on duty will be pissed off." He informed her with a light chuckle.

"Taking risks, huh." She retorted teasingly.

"Yeah... We might be kicked out if someone finds us."

Silence fell between the two. The soft breeze caressed their smooth skins and blew gently their hair, relaxing them as they stare at the sun set. The gentle splashes of waves impacting the fine sand of the beach echoed calmly in the air. It truly put soldiers in a calm and peaceful environment accompanied by the blissful silence.

"...I missed you..." Kuribayashi blurted out suddenly.

Raymond turned to her with a raised eyebrow, he was too entranced with the scenery that he didn't actually heard her. "Did you say something?"

Blushing a deep scarlet, she hesitated to either stay silent or truly confess to him. She felt sweat pouring down her forehead and her hands trembled nervously on her knees.

"Hey, are you alright?" Stephen asked, a little concerned for her.

She gulped and decided to speak out her heart, it was now or never... or she could wait for the enemy to attack them to save her from embarrassement. She wished for the latter to happen for a split second. She fully faced him and gazed deeply in his dark brown eyes.

"...I-I-I m-missed...y-you..." Her face got redder as she spoke out. The same could be said for the Marine as a streak of light pink blush appeared across his cheeks.

"Heh... I, uh, missed you too, Kuribayashi..." He finally said but in a confused but friendly tone.

Disappointed by his response and a little bit hurt that he was now avoiding her gaze, she didn't want her heart to shatter and decided for a next course of action. If words didn't work, brute force will have to do. She was, after all, a person who preffered action over words.

Steeling herself, she swiftly grabbed the Marine by his blouse collar and moved in for a kiss. Her lips connected with his in a second. She tightly held onto his collar, not wanting him to back away.

Raymond was in utter shock, evident by his widened eyes. He was being kissed by a Japanese soldier, a woman and a NCO, in the camp and on the job, with the risk of being caught by the patrol guards. Though on the other hand, he was being kissed by the woman he fell in love with. Screw it, he thought.

Slowly closing his eyes, he leaned a bit forward, accepting her soft, gentle lips against his. He softly held her arms, not wanting to let go of her. Pressing their lips together passionately, Stephen eventually opened his lips apart, letting Shino's eager tongue in. Their heart beat simultaneously, in harmony.

Sixty seconds, that felt like sixty minutes, passed and they parted away, panting heavily by the sudden rush of blood pumping in their heart and face. It was a good feeling. However now Raymond found himself in a dilemna. Was this for real? They are still in warzone, deep in enemy territory and everyone was on the edge as the threat of being sieged was high. Was this out of desperation or will this be a serious thing between them? Will they ever be together once this war was over? Will they be a couple and stay together and so on? Questions ran through his mind like a speeding train.

Sadly these questions will be answered at another time.

All of the sudden, the base's alarms blared loudly, soldiers rushed to get their gears and regroup with their unit. The Imperials are here and this time they are on the offensive as half of the remaining Legion, accompanied by the Reserves, led the counter-offensive the IDDF have awaited.

It is going to be their longest night.

* * *

The battle has started two hours ago and there were no signs of an end in the near future. The main Legion attacked relentlessly the Digimon forces of the IDDF coalition, distracting them while the reserves of 10 000 troops marched safely towards the human base in the chaotic night. Intense battles were fought in the nearby towns and villages, the humans have sent reinforcements to help their allies. Traitorous digimon, they were. Turning their backs against the glorious Emperor.

These were the thoughts shared by the many new imperial troopers of the 6th Reserve Regiment. Leading the regiment was Grademon's Company. The Reserve Captain was fresh out of the prestigious Imperial Officer Academy, now leading for the first time his troops into battle. Walking beside them with pride and duty, Grademon's velvet eyes observed the landscape ahead of the company.

Beyond the treelines and grass field laid the enemy camp, indicated by the distant warm and cold lights emanated by the camp's light poles. At the full moon, the regiment marched easily in the night, eager to attack their foes, catching them off guard at this perfect opportunity. The ground rumbled loudly eventhough the troops moved as silently as possible.

"Easy on the steps, lads." Instructed his subordinate officers in a stern whisper.

Grademon's magenta mantle -a sign of alligence to the Imperium and of his military rank- flowed hazily to the calm wind as he marches forward with his troops. Once close the treelines, he took out one of his "Golden Meteor" swords and raised it high, pointing the blade towards the enemy base. It was his moment to prove the veterans of his leadership and loyalty.

"For our glorious Emperor and to the Imperium! Onwards and strike down our foes!" He bellowed proudly as he gazes highly at his troops.

The imperial troopers roared confidently and charged forwards. This was their first battle, their rite of passage. Proving themselves as capable soldiers of the Imperium through baptism by fire. They will be the heroes who fought and won the great battle of Regidice.

Seconds into the charge and chaos ensued. First, they were pounded by enemy heavy artilleries, then their air forces rained storm of powerful bullets and rockets on them. Those who passed through that horror met a quick death as hails of hot lead flew straight at them. The first and second line of imperials fell in a matter of minutes. The troops were torn apart and into pieces of gore and blood. Limbs and guts were thrown away of their bodies by artillery shells and rocket fire. Mists of blood showered them as the infantry gets cut down by enemy machine guns and mowed down by their armour. Morale dropped significantly and their pride was replaced by pure shock and utter fear.

"Fucking hell! Run!"

"This is madness! We need to get out of- ARGH!"

"H-help me! A-anyone!"

"Sir Grademon! We're getting cut to pieces!" One of his lieutenants reported frantically, pleading for a full retreat.

"Nothing to do but to endure, Lieutenant LighDramon!" He stated sternly and coldly, "Courage, lads! For the Emperor!" He charged into the fray, his sword raised proudly high.

In the thick of battle, Grademon shouted and barked orders at his soldiers, ignoring the flying bullets and falling shells. Showing his unshakelable will and courage, his troopers were inspired and mustered enough willpower to brave through enemy fire. Filled with rejuvinated determination, the reserve legionaires regrouped and charged at their enemy. There was a two hundred meter run between them. They were close to meet face-to-face their enemy, the ones who dared to defy the might of the Imperium, who provoked a rebellion of traitorous digimon across their once great empire. They were responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands loyal soldiers of the Emperor. May He put their souls at ease and their data cleansed with His holy powers.

As Grademon leads head on his company towards the enemy, he glared at their direction with a fiery passion, ready to bring death upon them.

Suddenly, the ground erupted below him violently, his armour heating up intensely and crushing his lower body, he let out an agonizing scream. He felt his body being thrown into the air before everything went black.

* * *

 **Author's Note: This is probably the longest chapter I've written so far but I also had a lot of fun writting it and I hope you guys liked it. Next chapter should be up in a few weeks, yeah sorry for these long waits but I'm doing my best to improve these chapters. Anyways as always, à la prochaine! :D**


	30. Chapter 29

Chapter 29:

Operation Normandy _(Part 2)_

 _D-Day+ 22_

Two weeks have passed since the main Imperial counter-offensive. The two armies have clashed and fought during those times continuously. Despite the fact that the IDDF and its allied coalition were superior in numbers and firepower, the Imperials managed to stall them so far by sheer will to fight another day. Stalling their enemy bought the reserves enough time for the 7th Legion to come to their aid. Thus so far, the 6th Reserve Regiment stood their ground along with the 7th Legion – the 9th Legion being completely destroyed in a few days by the Royal Knights and their Strike Forces.

The artillery was their wake up call. Marines and JSDF soldiers rushed to the Hesco Barriers, the machine gun teams on the watch towers lit up the treelines as enemy troops charged at them. This must have been the thirtieth attack of those past weeks. The humans were quick on their feet, accurate with their weapon and deadly in retaliation. Legionaires dropped like flies, mowed down by their weapons.

However, the enemy also had their own artillery units. Pounding their base for the fifth day, the men and women in service had a hard time to sleep peacefully, wary for an upcoming assault. Supplies were getting low, casualites high and morale dropping from sleepless nights. But they have endured through it so far and they shall continue today.

"Keep it up, Marines! Don't let those basterds close!" Raymond shouted in encouragement as he walks along the line of Marines behind the barriers, "Do not let them retaliate!" He stopped at one spot and fired a couple of rounds into the battlefield, three or so enemy foot soldiers fell by his hands.

Dirt rained down on the Marines as more enemy artillery shells fell just short from their position. Attack jets flew pass their positions, the venerated A-10 Warthogs let out their distinct aggressive screechs, the Vulcan autoguns spun and shot out lethal doses of 20mm rounds into the battlefield. Very few digimon could survive their deadly air runs. Imperial troops were easily anniliahated by these powerful rounds; chests were perforated, limbs and heads exploded into red mists of blood and flesh, bodies were destroyed beyond recognition, and more cried in agony and shock as they bled out painfully, leaving pools of blood and their entrails spilled on the ruined soil.

"Woo! Get those motherfuckers!" Yelled the Marines happily. "This is Sparta!"

With air support once again on their side, the men and women of camp "Sparta", JSDF and U.S Marines, gunned down the fleeing imperial troops mercilessly. Enemy wounded were abandonned on the battlefield, left behind by their scared comrades, their only hope is they'll get better treatment from the humans; if they were lucky enough to not get blown off by artillery or receiving a stray bullet to the head.

Around late noon, Royal Knight Strike Forces and IDDF armoured companies led a counter-offensive, cutting down the rest of the imperials and their artillery units. The reserves were either killed or captured, very few digimon of the 7th Legion managed to run away alive from the Strike Forces' unrelenting and precise attacks. The Royal Knights ordered their troops to hunt them down, operating as a search and destroy mission.

Thus, the IDDF and its allies repelled the imperials out of the "Normandy" coastline.

Finally having some time to breathe and respite, Raymond went along the barriers, checking up on his Marines and other soldiers of the JSDF, giving them encouraging words or a proud pat on the back. Quick and simple yet enough to ease and comfort them. His Marines fought well and they fought hard, this only proves how proud he was of them.

The men and women in uniform had to wait another hour to really have the "all clear" signal. From this point, they went on the grueling task to gather their dead, recollect ammunation from them and refortify their defenses. The air had been quite depressing despite it was a major victory for them. No amount of battles won would ever compensate the unfortunately long list of KIAs. Each battle, each skirmish, each mission was a painful cost for the IDDF.

Grimly and silently, the soldiers gathered their dead, wounded and carried the injured enemy soldiers, treating them with medical aid, food and water. The grassy plains were ruined and disfigured, it was now a desolate and lunar landscape. Large craters dotted the area, pools of blood mixed with mud slowed the humans in the process of retrieving enemy wounded, they were often too late or the enemy's wound was infected, thus needing immediate medical care.

Communications between forces and bases were completely silent. Different reports estimated that there were between 4 000 to 6 000 Imperials killed in action, however some could estimate that there were more than 10 000 troops involved in the counter-offensive.

These stats were useless to most ground forces, the only thing that mattered was who's left.

His clawed feet sunk deep in the mushy mud as they trudged across the battlefield to retrieve any other enemy casualty. Corporal Cyberdramon swore under his breath dryly, half of his body was caked with dry blood and mud due to having been slipping on the ground for a couple of times now. His trusty M240B had surprisingly little dirt on it, he heaved the machine gun over his shoulders, wanting to minimize the dirt on it.

The stench of blood and explosive residue lingered strongly in the air, some of the Marines in his squad had their shemagh or scarves lifted up and covering half of their face, just below eye level.

"Having trouble back there, Cyberdramon?" Asked his squad leader, Sergeant Scott Rand, amusingly, finding it funny that an intimidating and brawn digimon like him was having trouble traversing the field of mud.

"Aye, Sergeant," Replied the digimon with a small grin, "Unlike Guilmon, I hate mud." He stated with a grumbled as he almost lost his footing once again.

"Well, at least by the end of the day," Rand turned around with a teasing smile, "You'll be well camouflaged in this mud field."

"Yeah, like Arnie in the Predator!" Chuckled PFC. Samuel Winston, walking pass the digimon with ease, "It could work in here, who knows?"

The Second Squad of Second Platoon continued their search, idly observing the area, until they came across Third Squad from First Platoon.

At the head of the other squad of Marines was Sergeant Flamedramon, and like Cyberdramon, caked in the mess, from head to toe. An annoyed glare was apparent on his face while Lance Corporal Guilmon, also in the same circumstance, seemed to have the time of his life with his joyful and toothy grin.

"Told you so, Sergeant." Whispered Cyberdramon to Rand before the latter addresses to Flamedramon.

"Found anything, Flamedramon?"

"Negative, nothing on our end." The blue bipedal dragon replied dryly, wiping off some mud on his mask, "We're pulling back now and hopefully be done with this _mud_." He hissed the last word to emphasise his disgust. He then threw a small glare at Guilmon, a bit jealous of his behaviour.

"If you say so. I guess we should pull back also." Concluded Rand and turned away.

Suddenly they all heard heavy 'slodging' sounds near them, as if someone was crawling heavily on the mud. Looking towards the sound, they spotted a raised, furry limb before it lifelessly fell back on the ground with a small 'splat'.

"Ah crap..." Cyberdramon uttered bitterly as he follows his squadmates towards the injured.

The wounded Imperial was an unconscious Strabimon, wearing a dirtied marine blue beret and a damaged metal chestplate, punctured by either bullets or sharpnels. Small rivers of blood came out of his chest and out of the cut on his forehead. His left leg was almost charred to a crisp, fur gone, revealing a mess of burnt flesh.

The Marines gathered around him, checking and evaluating his health. Badly beaten but miraculously alive if given the proper medical care as soon as possible.

"We'll take care of him," Stated Flamedramon, "we'll have him bandaged up and carry him back to a medical station."

"Alright, we'll continue that way to see if there are any others like him around." Responded Sergeant Rand, his Marines started to move out with Cyberdramon at the back, still staring at the Imperial trooper.

"Clean the wounds and roll bandages around his left leg and chest, give him a shot of morphine and let Guilmon carry him from there on." Instructed Flamedramon as his squad begin their task.

"Let's hope he'll be still alive to give us some intel."

While the other squad took care of the wounded, Cyberdramon caught up with his squad, now walking beside Rand.

"What's with the beret, actually?" Asked curiously PFC. Winston.

"He's a Scout Legionaire, Special Forces or some kind." Answered Cyberdramon, half certain.

"Yeah, he should have some useful intel for us," Confirmed Rand, "Though I have no clue why they would employ SF to the frontlines... Such a waste of manpower in my opinion."

"Maybe they're desperate and unrational?"

"Yeah... let's hope that..."

* * *

 _September 13th 2019, Camp Sparta._

Idle chatter filled the small briefing room as the Force Recon Marines of the 1st Digital Marines waited for their platoon commander.

"Atten-tion!" Shouted Staff Sergeant Renamon as soon as First Lieutenant Colbert entered the room. Her voice silenced the whole room instantly, the Marines stood sharply and stared at their CO and his 2IC attentively.

Behind Colbert was a white screen. He took a small remote controller and turned the lights off before turning the projector on, displaying a map, specifically an image taken from a drone. It was going to be their area of operation. The image was a bird's eye view of a large rural town, squares upon squares of houses and buildings scattered around, at the center was a large dome like town hall. Roads crossed and sectioned the town in a maze like pattern. The sight of the rural urban maze reminded the Marines of Afghanistan or Irak, having the similar urban layout.

"This, gentlemen," Colbert announced while pointing a small red laser at the image, "will be our new playground. Let me present to you New Zimmer. A large town with a population of 3 000 digimon, 500 Imperials and a company of armoured vehicles, namely tanks and mobile Anti-Airs." The image then panned and zoomed in an urban area of the town in the South-West, blocks of buildings and streets was all they could see, "This is the "Porkchop"," Several buildings were then highlighted in bright green, "And these buidlings are our estimated locations for our VIP."

Colbert's gaze shifted to his Marines, "As you may have guessed, this is a search and rescue op, and I know that this kind of mission is suppose to be conducted by MARSOC," He explained as a matter-of-fact, "However our forces are spread thin and overloaded with work. All Special Operation Forces units from around the globe are being deployed in advance of the main forces, acting as the tip of the spear. Reconnaisance, Search and Destroy, Sabotage, POW rescue op... you name them. The IDDF is sending the best of the best out to cause as much precise chaos and mayhem along and inside enemy line. Staff Sergeant."

Renamon nodded and stood upfront, observing the Force Recon Marines sternly. "For this mission, we will strike hard and fast. Limited explosives, C4 is recommended. No snipers for this mission either. Gear up with extra ammo 'cause we might stay out there longer than expected. We will be fighting alongside the Dramon Republic's 23rd Storm Regiment. They will provide us the necessary heavy firepower we need to hold the enemy off for a few hours. Remember, we're here to rescue someone not to blow the entire town up. Be careful where you aim and call out your shots."

She stepped back to her previous position and let Colbert back forward, his hands clasped behind his back, his icy blue eyes eyeing over his Marines.

"Our VIP is a Slayerdramon, codenamed "Nobu". He is an important officer of the Dramon Republic's ground forces. We will be airlifted by helos and I guarantee you that we will be swarmed by enemy troops in a matter of minutes. That is why I expect all of you to keep your heads cool and aim sharp and deadly. We will divide the platoon into four teams of four Marines to clear out the suspect buildings faster. Once you've found the VIP, signal to the rest of the unit. We will reassemble to the target building and, hopefully, exfil helos should be there for us in five mikes. Oorah?"

"Oorah!" They all shouted in unison, confident and determined.

"Fall in and prep your gear!" Instructed Renamon sharply, "We're green in five hours, so grab some grub and some shut eyes after your preparations, you'll need it."

On cue, the Marines orderly walked out of the briefing room, leaving Colbert and Renamon alone. Colbert was gathering his intel folder and noticed that his 2IC still hasn't moved from her spot. He coughed loud enough to catch her attention.

"You should probably get on moving, Staff Sergeant." He suggested politely and formally.

Renamon still had her hands behind her back, back straight and posture still as a statue with a neutral expression on her face. She slowly shook her head before speaking up.

"Don't need to, Lieutenant, my gear is already set for the op." She replied stoically. Colbert could see she was exhausted from the long fighting, not to mention the mess it had been after the battle. The bags hanging below her eyes were big evidences that she had sleepless nights.

"Renamon, you don't have to be so formal, it's just the two of us." Shot back Colbert, deciding to slack back his tone a little, "I can tell that you haven't slept in awhile and you know for a fact that a tired Marine is an ineffective Marine." He countered sharply yet with care. Renamon just stared at him, conflicted and reluctant to give in. "If you won't listen as a friend, then I'm ordering you to take some shut eyes, Staff Sergeant Renamon." A small smile crept on his lips.

Renamon sighed in defeat and tiredly and nodded dutifully. Walking out of the room, she was stopped on her tracks when her superior officer called her once again.

"I recommend you go see your boyfriend, I know it could 'help' you a little." He said with a friendly wink to which Renamon chuckled lightly.

"Let's hustle, Marines! The Imps aren't going to kill themselves!" Hollered Gunnery-Sergeant Dukeman.

Marines of Alpha Company hurried up with their task, running back and forth, carrying crates, weapons or canisters to supply their convoy. A long line of armoured vehicles awaited patiently for their passengers and drivers, their engines rumbled with life, small trails of black smoke escaped out of the exhaust pipes.

While they were the first to get ready for the next push, they weren't the only ones ready to leave the base. The whole battalion is getting ready and the JGSDF was in the similar state. Digimon forces have already gone out with the IDDF's Special Operations Forces units shortly before the entire base was on the move.

Raymond had his eyes glued to his clipboard, reading rapidly the list of supplies and equipment present in his convoy. Striding without watching ahead, the sound around him was filled with hundreds of voices and mechanical sounds.

He bumped into someone by accident. Feeling stupid, he sheepishly apologized the person in front of him, only to shut up immediately and having his cheeks flare up. Kuribayashi was also in the similar state.

"H-hey..." He stuttered nervously after a long moment of silence.

"H-hi..." She replied in a similar manner. She was holding her rifle on one hand and her combat helmet on the other.

Another minute of silence struck between the two. The hectic activity around them continued but it seemed to be muffled by a divine intervention, or some sort.

"Haven't seen you in awhile..." Spoke up shyly Raymond. Known for his reckless bravery, even as an officer, this situation hasn't been drilled in bootcamp nor taught in OCS, thus he lacks the skills to... tackle this sort of awkward moment.

But indeed, eversince the interruption of their moment by the enemy, they haven't seen each other during the whole battle. Oddly enough, they weren't worried about one another but they did think of each other oftenly. And now is their chance to clear some things out...if they are willing.

"Y-yeah, but I'm glad you're still alive!" Shino responded awkwardly with a forced out smile.

"Same here... * _cough*_ "

"So about that t-time... are w-we a, uh, thing?" Asked the petite brunette nervously as her face turned fifty shades of red, "Are we "serious"?" She clarified.

"Well do you want to?"

"Do you have any feelings for me?"

"Uuh, I-" A loud mechanical wheeze and hiss shook them out of their reality.

"Move out of the fucking way!" Shouted a Marine tank commander, sitting atop of a M1A3 Abrams tank.

Both soldiers moved to the side, closely to each other, and let the tank get on its path. Raymond coughed awkwardly and bid Kuribayashi farewell. She returned the action and went on a different direction, seemingly forgetting the important question.

Hopping in the command M-ATV, Raymond huffed in frustration and slumped back lazily on his seat. Dukeman later joined in, taking the driver's seat with a small smile.

"Rough day?" He guessed idly.

"You have no idea..."

* * *

Numerous agricultural fields dotted the temperate landscape. The square-ish fields had different shades of green and some had certain shades of orange. Lined and sectionned by rows of healty and beautiful oak trees, the helicopters flew above the peaceful landscape at a fast pace, passing above some of the isolated cottages.

Around them were valleys of forests and tall hills, filled with different shades of green from the colour palette that blended harmoniously. Farther ahead of them was the town, New Zimmer, built next to the "Lyrax", a large river that snaked through the landscape, providing the area with ample amount of water and fishes, it was quite a popular river for amateur and professional fishermon, but neiher of those really mattered for the elite Marines that is Force Recon.

The mission was important, nothing more nothing less. And they will accomplish such missions with silent, swift and deadly actions.

 _"Feet on the ground in three mikes."_ Announced their pilot of the CH-53E Super Stallion "Snake Eater 1-1".

"Three mikes!" Repeated Colbert loudly to his Marines.

Though the helicopter isn't really built for stealth and quick special operations, it compensates for being able to carry a large amount of troops and being more suited to take more of a punch than the BlackHawks.

There were only two Super Stallions in the air, escorted by five Viper attack helicopters and a single AC-130 Spectre flying high above in the skies, armed to the teeth with destructive weapons, ready to unleash them at a moment's notice... if the Recon Marines asked nicely.

Tailing behind the formation of human aircrafts were four dozen aerial digimon of the 23rd Storm Regiment, an elite shock trooper regiment of the Dramon Republic, made up only of veterans and highly experienced soldiers. They are the toughest soldiers the Republic has to offer.

 _"Two mikes."_ Came out the announcement.

The Marines instinctively checked their gears: weapon locked and loaded, plate carrier and helmet strapped neatly, radio's still functionning, assault pack tighten behind the back and shoulders, ballistic shades and shemagh present for cover from dust and for badass appearance. Renamon checked her earpiece before inspecting her new MK18 Carbine. Racking the charging handle, it released a small and satisfying 'snap', indicating a round of 5.56mm was chambered in. Next was her sidearm, a P220 pistol -her paws being too big to handle a M45 sidearm- she had little experience with it but she hoped the 9mm parabellum rounds would be enough to take out most enemy targets that gets too close.

Peering out to the small oval window behind her, the rural town was nearly in her sights. As expected, the town was quite large, hundreds of blocks of civilian buildings stretched on the expansive green landscape. Civilian activities were still present, evident by the hundreds of them walking through the crowded streets like an ant colony, unaware of the military presence that will soon dawn upon them. Hopefully there won't be any unnecessary civilian KIAs.

 _"One mike."_

"One minute!"

Turning her head to the left, she came face-to-face with Roach, carrying an M4A1 carbine fitted for close quarters engagements. He had his combat goggles and black and olive drab shemagh on, resembling like a faceless warrior. The Marine turned to her and gave her a thumbs up, she could easily sense that Gary was giving her a friendly smile behind the cloth. She responded with a small smile and a slight nod.

 _" Boogey 1, to all SnakeEaters, be advised: we have multiple hostile movements in the town and on the outskirts. We will engage hostile forces on the outside. How copy? Over."_ The Spectre gunship informed calmly.

 _"Boogey 1, this is SnakeEater 1-1, solid copy. Boots on the grounds in forty seconds. Over."_

 _"This is SnakeEater 1-2, copy on that traffic. Dropping troops in fifty seconds. Over."_

 _"Roger that, SnakeEaters. Good luck and God speed, gentlemen."_

The skies erupted violently as the gunship lit up the ground with its deadly arsenal. Tilting to one side, the ground-attack aircraft spat out 40mm shells and 25mm rounds, destroying enemy vehicles and decimating their ground forces, 105mm howitzer shells pounded enemy bases built around on the outskirts of the town, resulting in a large devastating explosion of dirt and military equipments, materials and personels. The rain of death stirred the local population of their daily lives, witnessing the destructive power of the Spectre in the sky and ran for their lives in utter terror.

 _"Feet on the ground in twenty seconds."_

The Super Stallion tilted on its back lightly before it stabilises in the air, flying at low altitude and slowly dragging itself in the air towards the nearset suspect building.

 _"Ten seconds."_

"Ropes out!"

Hovering in place, Colbert kicked down the rappel rope to the outside world, now a tornado of dust, dirt and sand caused by the helicopter's rotor down, also known as "brown out". The "brown out" is both an advantage and a disavantage for both forces. By obscuring the area in a thick cyclone of dirt, enemy troops couldn't see them, meaning they could safely move around them without being spotted, even at a mere meter away. However that also applies to the Marines. They couldn't see the enemy nor their environment, there are chances that the imperials are just waiting for them right outside the dust cloud, perfect for a quick and deadly ambush.

While the platoon started to rappel down the rope, Renamon put on her goggles and jumped out of the aircraft. She landed graciously on the ground, hitting the stone paved road with a light 'thud'. Her squadmates were just behind her. She lifted her carbine to her right shoulder, scaning and sensing for any threat.

Civilians were long gone from their AO, having been fleeing away to avoid getting caught in a crossfire. The Spectre's fire still echoed strongly in the air, even through the deafening rotor blades of the helicopter above her.

Colbert was the first human on the ground, tapping Renamon's shoulder and pointed her to a direction. She replied with a thumbs up and waited the others to guide them to the correct pathway out of the thick cloud.

 _"WarChief, this is SnakeEater 1-1, Spartans are on the ground and proceeding to Tango 3. How copy? Over."_

 _"Loud and Clear, 1-1, proceed to the next phase of the mission, provide intel on enemy movement."_

 _"Roger that, moving to next phase. 1-2, how are things on your end?"_

 _"1-1, Warriors are still disembarking- Fuck!- 1-1, we're taking heavy enemy attack! Shit, they got here quick!"_

"Left door breach! On me!" Ordered Renamon after taking out two hostile foot soldiers.

The Marines stacked up behind her, Roach placed a small strap of explosive next the doorknob, a small black wire connected it to a detonator. He took his position next the Staff Sergeant, crouching and waited for her signal. She nodded, giving a tap on his helmet. He pressed the button, the door blew in violently, the Force Recon Marines rushed in, guns up and eyes behind the sights, finger eager on the trigger.

"Hostiles outside!" Reported Colbert, "Make it quick Renamon!"

The Lieutenant and a handful of Marines took cover behind the store's narrow back alleyway. The group's MK48 gunner grinned happily as he spots half a dozen of new targets on his sight. Bursts of 7.62mm rounds barked louder than the combined efforts of the M4A1s' and MK18s' 5.56mm rounds. The imperial troops were dropping dead like flies killed by a bug spray; a lethal spray of bullets in their case.

Minutes later, Renamon and her team came back out by the same breached in door, unfortunately empty-handed.

"Moving to the next target building! Cover fire!"

Bursts of bullets halted the enemy from advancing on them. Renamon cleared the other end. With the all clear signal, they crossed the street in a full sprint, barely avoiding enemy projectiles. Thinking fast, the digimon operator took out a grey smoke grenade, pulled the pin and tossed it in the middle of the street. A distinct 'pop' rang before a grey cloud slowly dispersed out of the tube hand grenade and obscuring a large portion of the street. The rest of the platoon safely re-grouped with the others. At this point, Colbert's radio crackled with life.

 _"Spartan 1, this is SnakeEater 1-1, be advised, Warrior 1 and Warrior 2 came up empty with Tango 4 and 5. How copy? Over."_

"1-1, we came empty with Tango 3, we're moving to Tango 1 and 2." He informed to the pilot.

 _"Roger, I'll let them know. Be aware that Shock troopers are near the area, be careful for blue on blue fire."_

"Right, thanks for the info!" He ended the comm and grabbed everyone's attention, "Friendlies are nearby, watch your fire and call out your targets! Let's move out!"

The Recon Marines weaved through the maze like rural town, walking fast and checking their surroundings, enemy troops were zeroing on their position fast. Firefights echoed in the narrow alleyways as bullets fly back and forth at both sides.

Renamon spun around, MK18 brought up and holographic sight on the target. With disciplined fire, she shot three precise rounds at her target, the carbine kicked as it recoils slightly upwards. The bullets punctured through a Cyberdramon's chest, three holes jouted streaks of blood, flesh and organs damaged and pierced by the projectiles.

She dodged several enemy fire with ease and calm, as if she was dancing, sumersaulting in the air before using the momentum to push herself further upwards thanks to a wall. In mid-air, her cold eyes scanned her next targets, weapon loaded, changing the fire selector to automatic, the carbine spewed out short bursts of hot lead, punching through most flesh and body armour the enemy troops had. Most have fallen, few were lucky to substain a gaping wound to the limb or chest.

"Nice fucking shot, Staff Sergeant!" Shouted Roach from behind as he provides cover fire for the rest of the platoon.

A small smirk etched on her face. Jumping backwards at high altitude, she tossed out a frag grenade to cover their escape and stall the enemy, hopefully even killing them all with a frag; it could be a sweet score for her. The grenade bounced off the walls and hit one of the imperials. One of them wanted to curse but was shortly drowned out by the loud explosion and cries of their comrades.

"Okay now you're just showing off, Renamon..."

"Shadow Storm!" Black sharp diamonds rained down on the foot soldiers, blood sprouted out of their bodies before they were turned into clouds of data.

Hitting the ground with a tired grunt, BlackRenamon looked around her to assess the situation her squad was currently in.

Soon after they've arrived in the AO by a human air transport, they were pinned down by heavy enemy contact. Two of her Shock troopers fell and four got injured badly. Sergeant Chief ExVeemon tried to contact with the rest of their forces, to no avail. Royal Knight communication device was somehow less effective than their human counterpart.

"Fox Fire!"

An intense heat wave was felt near her. Turning around warily, she saw three data clouds and a worried and beaten up WereGarurumon.

"Come on! We're hauling our asses out of here!" She shouted through the battlefield before following the squad. BlackRenamon tailed right behind them.

"Sergeant BlackRenamon! Corporal WereGarurumon! Cover our retreat while we take the wounded outta here!" Ordered the Sergeant Chief as he lifts a wounded DinoHumon over his shoulders. The injured digimon was mumbling about his mother and a cookie jar. "Yeah, yeah, you'll see your momma soon, mate." ExVeemon muttered under his breath.

"Looks like we're bait this time." Commented BlackRenamon with a sly smirk.

"Yep, like always, Rena." WereGarurumon pointed out sarcastically. A small smile crept on her lips before she furrowed her brows, face serious as enemy troops came into view. "I'll take the ones on the right and you'll-"

"TOO SLOW!" Shouted BlackRenamon in the distance, taking out a Sealsdramon with an uppercut and perfomed a roundhouse kick to an unfortunate AeroVeedramon, the powerful kick sent them flying straight into a building.

Joining the fight enthusiastically, the two female elite warriors held their grounds with outstanding performance and synchronised team work, dispatching left and right hostile soldiers.

They were outnumbered but they weren't outskilled, experience and tough training had built these female digimon into battle-hardened and highly skilled combattants, outperforming most of their male counterparts. They were the best in their field.

Sadly for them, their fun was cut short when imperials were starting to drop suddenly in mid-action. Blood sprayed the street, the cries of victims were soon drowned out when loud mechanical barkings erupted. Streaks of green hot lead punctured enemy troops with ease.

When all thirty tangos were eliminated, human in green digital camo came out of an alleyway, their weapons raised and meticulously searching for any potential targets. It was as if the weapon's barrel could sniff the enemy eager to dish out more lead. The group of human soldiers, immediately recognised as the famed Force Recon Marines ran up to them. A half split up and formed a semi-circle around the two digimon and the rest of the group.

Renamon and Colbert calmly walked up to the two awestruck digimon, both of them had their mouths hung open.

"Sorry for the interruption, troopers," Began Colbert politely, "but we Marines are a bit in a hurry." He curiously observed the area behind them with a raised eyebrow, "Where is the rest of your squad? Or did you guys got separated?"

"Uh, no, sir... we were just providing cover while they evacuate the wounded." Reported WereGarurumon dutifully, straightening her back with BlackRenamon following suit. "Honored to work with you, sir!" She saluted them sharply.

Rushed footsteps abruptly interrupted Colbert. Looking behind the two shock troopers, an ExVeemon halted suddenly, panting heavily, his face was sweating profusely. He held up his long range communications headset (trademarked by the manufacturer).

"L-ads! Got * _pant*_ info * _pant*_ friendlies-" He stared at the human soldiers around him with wide eyes. He slapped himself on the face, releasing a loud shriek of disappointment. "I hate my life..."

"Sergeant Chief, do you think you can hold this position while we clear out target building 1 and 2?" Colbert asked with a cool but serious tone, implicitely ordering the ExVeemon.

"Aye, sir. But make it quick, I've got wounded on the line." ExVeemon told him hurriedly.

"Thanks a lot, we'll be quick. Let's move out, Marines!"

Each passing Force Recon Marine gave an acknownledged nod to the three other digimon and followed their commander dutifully.

Tango 2 was a small local apartment, located just a few blocks away of the Regional Ministry. It was an eight storey building, wide and tall enough to accomodate most digimon of different size and type.

The platoon hit against the wall of the building. They split into two teams of two squad size, one will breach the front door and the other the back door. Staff Sergeant Renamon led the team through the front door. Kicking the double door open, the men rushed in, their leader tailing behind them. The group cut in two and checked both sides. The reception area was devoid of life, civilian luggages were left out, scattered on the prestine carpeted floor in a hurry. Heavy thuds of the humans' combat boots were muffled by the soft ground. Radio transmisssions and light static echoed in the empty apartment reception room.

"All clear, Staff Sergeant," Reported neutrally Sergeant "Roach", his M4A1 grasped firmly against his plate carrier.

"Pick two volunteers with you to stay and hold this room. No one gets in or out, friendlies only." Renamon ordered stoically. "The rest of you with me, we're moving up."

Roach spun around on his feet and pointed his index at two members of his team, "You and you."

Sergeant Cody Middlebrooks and Corporal Andre "Coal" Blackburn both grumbled under their breath in protest.

Floor after floor, room after room, the VIP was nowhere to be found. Hostile presence was zero however civilians still hid in the apartment and each time it was the same story. Marines breach in, screams of terror rang loudly in the hallway and their ear, the Marines try to calm them before moving on to the next room. Eventually both teams found nothing, counting that have found at least three dozen civvies.

"SnakeEater 1-1, this is Spartan 1, we have three dozen civilians in Tango 2 and five friendly wounded, requesting quick evac. How copy? Over."

 _"Spartan 1, request denied. AO is still too hot for an evac of civvies and wounded. I'll contact Warchief and see if they can get PJs in the air. Hold on, over."_

* * *

 _"Boogey 1, this is Warchief, new mission update: Pjs are Oscar-Mike to evac civilians and wounded on the field. ETA 10 mikes, prioritize hostile armour and AA guns."_

"Roger that, Warchief, Boogey 1 will engage and prioritize hostile armour and AA guns."

Shifting to their new targets, the Spectre gunship spat out a series of 40mm and 105mm shells. The ground shook and shot up violently, mushroom clouds of dust and fire dotted the landscape. Behind crewmembers' screens, those who were operating the guns, streaks of white beams of different width shot across the black and white screen, infared signatures of hostile units were suddenly replaced by a large white smoke screen.

All of the sudden, alarms blared all across the aircraft, hostile ground-to-air guns have them locked on. Despite the danger, the two pilots calmly asses the situation, their voices butchered in static by the radio.

"Missile out." They reported coolly.

A flash appeared from the ground before a thick trail of grey smoke launched upwards, heading towards the massive metal bird, aiming at its rear.

"Missile confirmed, heading for our rear." Reported one crewmember.

"Roger. Flares out, flares out." One of the pilots announced.

A light 'beep' resonated. From the outside, dozens of bright white lights shot out of the aircraft in a specific pattern, illuminating the already clear blue sky. The lights produced smoke revealing a characteristic pattern. Dozens shot upwards out to the sides before slowly descending while another dozens shot directly downwards. Thus the Angel Flares appeared in the Digital World, one that would be admired and awed by many digimon commoners and envied by the digimon angels, residing in the skies in their Sky Colonies. A beautiful faint image of an angel, either an ironic twist of the Spectre gunship; the Angel of Death, or a sarcastic contrast to the chaotic battles on the ground.

The incoming missile fell easily for the counter-measures. Spinning in the air harmlessly before igniting in the air, far away from its initial target.

"Missile avoided, good job, guys." Pointed out one crewmember through the mechanical whirs of the five-barreled GAU 12/U gatling cannon, the 25mm empty rounds released small, almost melodic tunes.

"Shit! More missiles coming at us!"

"Flares are still not ready!"

"Fuck! Evasive maneouvre!"

"Hold ON!"

Half a dozen missiles flew up straight for the gunship, coming from different paths. The Spectre tilted back in its stationary position then lifted its nose upwards quickly. A missile missed the tail and another barely hit under the aircraft.

"Ugh- Come on!"

By a miracle, all remaining missiles missed their target. Both pilots huffed out in relief, glad to still be alive at this time.

"Fuck, man, do we have plot armour or some shit?" One of the pilots joked in relief.

"Don't know, don't care..." Replied the other, "Does anyone have eyes where those came from?"

"Affirmative... Spotted the flashes to our nine o'clock, in the town."

"Warchief, this is Boogey 1, we have spotted possible AA guns in the town. Permission to light 'em up."

 _"Granted if you have solid evidence. Minimise collateral damage, Boogey 1."_ Affirmed Warchief with a commanding tone.

"To any Vipers, this is Boogey 1, we need eyes on the town to confirm a AA unit so that we can take it out. How copy? Over."

 _"Boogey 1, this is Viper 4-6, give me the location and I'll be there in a moment. Over."_ Proposed a female Marine pilot.

"Roger, just, uh, wait for a second – Okay, AA unit have been spotted inside a small commercial district, five klicks North-West of Tango 5."

 _"Roger, Viper 4-6 inbound..."_

The massive gunship flew around the town's perimeter at high altitude, out of harm's way from most Digimon anti-air projectiles. From their point of view, the battle seemed to intensify by the second, a whole quarter of the town consumed by the fuel of war, its citizens unable to escape its maw, caught in the lethal crossfire.

Seconds felt like hours as the crewmembers waited anxiously to receive their confirmation on the supposed AA unit. To their relief, the radio to the cockpit buzzed with life.

 _"Fuck – Boogey 1, this is Viper 4-6, we have eyes on the AA unit. It is confirmed, light 'em up as soon as you're in range."_ The Viper pilot reported through her rapid breathing.

"Thanks a bunch, Viper 4-6. Weapons' hot in twenty seconds."

The ground-attack aircraft plunged downwards a bit, risking to get retaliated by the imperials. Shifting its massive grey body to the side, the weapons adjusted their aim to their intented target.

"Five seconds..."

The few quick adjustments were done, shells and rounds were chambered and ready to shoot.

"Firing, firing, firing."

A loud orchestra of death and destruction followed on cue, thundering 'cracks' and deafening 'thumps' rang in the skies like a violent storm, sending shivers down the imperials' spine and terror to the civilians; the angel of Death was back with vengeance and fury in its core.

Caught in a panic, the imperial artillery operators quickly abandonned the area, leaving behind some of their comrades to their fated end. Swept up in a cyclone of fire and dirt, the 40mm shells cleared out the commercial district, destroying everything in its path with extreme prejudice and no mercy. A field of ruins and smoked craters laid in the area now, pockets of data clouds flew in the air hazily, untouched by the nature of war.

* * *

Admist the volleys of fire from the Spectre, close quarters firefights in the urban jungle between Allied forces and Imperial forces and gun runs from the USMC Viper attack helicopters; two Pavehawk transport helicopters from the U.S Air Force arrived into the battlefield with speed and purpose.

 _"To all air units, PJs are in the AO for civilian and wounded extraction, ETA two minutes."_

A bullet barely missed Colbert's head as he listens attentively to the communication's traffic, completely ignoring that last bullet. Relieved, he donned his tactical helmet on, neatly resting on his scalp. He pulled out the 30-round, slightly curved, AR-15 magazine from his M4A1 carbine and inspected the remaining bullets. Recounting his remaining full mags, he determined it was enough to go on for an hour more.

"Listen up!" He shouted at his Marines, all hold up inside the empty target building with the squad of the Dramon Republic Storm Regiment, fighting off a large amount of hostile foot soldiers. "PJs will be here in two minutes! So let's hustle up and push these fuckers back!"

"Oorah!" They shouted unanimously.

"Boogey 1, this is Spartan 1, requesting gun run at Tango 2, at anything above a hundred meters, light 'em up with 25mm, long burst." Colbert demanded with haste.

 _"Spartan 1, Boogey 1, gun run at Tango 2, anything above a hundred meters, twenty-five millimeter, long burst."_ Repeated the Spectre's gun operator, _"Be careful, guns are spinning in 3... 2... 1... Now."_

Faint, heavy 'whirs' could be heard from outside the building. The ground shook violently as dirt shot up suddenly along with civilian houses crushed by the fearsome gatling cannon. Several long bursts went on, a large mist of sand and dust soon envelopped the target building, obscuring the occupants from the horrendous but effective result of the AC-130 gunship. The cries of imperial troopers being perforated, dismembered and blown up in a spectacular explosion of blood and guts rang in the air before an eerie silence came after the terrifying metal bird stopped its fury.

 _"Spartan 1, this is Boogey 1, area is clear, an estimate of fifty EKIA. Good luck out there, Spartans."_ The pilot wished confidently.

The sound of rotorblades came to their ears, the mist was washed away, dissipating or swept upward by the rotors as a Pavehawk hovers in mid-air before slowly making its risky descent on ground. The Force Recon operators rushed out of the building, forming a semi-circle at the front, kneeling down and scanning around warily.

Two USAF Pararescuemen ran up to them, backs hunched over and head low to cover their faces from the cyclone of dirt and dust. One of the special forces operators walked up to Renamon at a rapid pace and offered his hand to greet her.

"Senior Airmen Jonas Lowe, 24th Rescue Squadron!" He greeted himself loudly through the deafening spins of the rotorblades.

"Staff Sergeant Renamon!" She greeted back loudly, "Glad to see you guys!"

"What's the MIST, Staff Sergeant!"

"Four friendlies wounded! One ExVeemon with GSWs to the ribcages, one Fairimon with head trauma and a GSW to the left thigh! One Valkyrimon with a third degree burn on his right arm and torso and one Angemon with an amputee to the left leg with GSWs to the chest!" She reported as quickly as possible, knowing that time was of the essence in this critical situation.

"What about the civvies?" He shouted the question.

"No apparent injuries." She replied.

"Are you sure?"

"We checked quickly!" He gave her a thumbs up and placed his left index on his headsets, listening to the comms before he spoke up.

"Gator 3-2, you'll take the two angels, I'll handle the the two others!" He proposed to the second team through his headset. An urgent pat to the shoulder tore his gaze away from the ground and straight into Renamon's icy blue eyes.

"Aren't you going to take the civilians?"

"Can't, not up to MEDROE," He explained sadly, "Sorry, ma'am."

Frustration bubbled in her, baffled by his response. She released a short, dry sigh, remaining cool in her mind. It is part of the protocol and she must follow it, no matter how much it will pain her when she and her squad will have to abandon the civilians to this mess.

She guided the two pararescuemen to their patients, some of the Marines offered their assistance to carry the wounded digimon on board the Pavehawk. After the first ascended back to the air, the second helicopter swooped in, this time taking light enemy fire. The low menacing 'thumping' of the M2 Browning machine gun indicated them that the enemy was close. Green streaks of fifty caliber rounds shot out of the transport chopper.

The MH-60M jerked roughly as it smacked the ground. Sliding the side hatch open, two more Pararescuemen came out and ran to the Recon Marines, awaiting them with the wounded on stretchers. One of the PJs, a Senior Airmen, guided the escort group back to the Pavehawk. Once they were in, the rest of the Recon Marines piled in back in the building, ready to move to the other target building.

Seeing the two helicopters fly away with the wounded, ExVeemon was confused as to why no further helicopters will come to evacuate the civilians.

"What the..." Spotting the Lieutenant, the blue dragon walked up to the officer, "Hey, wait, how come they don't other choppers here?"

"Can't," Colbert simply answered, "Not enough space nor time to evac the civvies."

"Then who's gonna, Lieutenant?"

"The Army, they'll arrive in fifty minutes." The digimon's mouth was hung open, not believing the human.

"You can't be serious! We do not have fifty minutes!"

"I know but we just have to leave them behind for the meantime." Declared the human as he and his men prepared themselves to move out.

However, the Sergeant Chief strongly disagreeded with the course of action. His troopers gathered up behind him, curious of the whole commotion between their commander and the human special forces unit.


	31. Chapter 30

Chapter 30:

Casualties of War

"WHAT?" Shouted Sergeant Chief Exveemon in disbelief and anger at the Force Recon Marines, "You can't bloody expect us to leave them behind!" He argued passionately, standing up for the frightened civilians that were gathered in the lobby.

"We have no choice, Sergeant," The second lieutenant shot back coldly, "We have restricted use of air support and we're wasting precious time with this useless debate."

"USELESS DEBATE?! USELESS DEBATE, Lieutenant!" ExVeemon glared at the human officer, whom so far, remained unfazed by the blue dragon's outburst, "Our priority is to protect the civilians and bring them to safety."

"No, our priority is to search and exfil a high-ranking VIP," Colbert corrected diplomatically, "A high-ranking officer from _your_ army, remind you." Colbert matched his cold steel gaze with Exveemon's blazing red eyes. "I put my men at risk to save this VIP, one that I do not know nor do I personally care."

"This is bullshit!" A MirageGaogamon sneered with frustration.

"Welcome to the suck, kid." Corporal "Coal" Blackburn responded sarcastically.

"Either you stay here, Sergeant, or you come with us," Colbert suggested neutrally, "Enemy force largely outnumbers and outguns us. If we do not act quickly, we will be surrounded and this operation will end with a butchery." The officer explained to him with a firm and serious tone, "It's your call but make it quick."

With that he turned away from the squad of shock troopers, his Marines right behind him without casting a single glance at them or the civilians who watched them hopelessly.

Exveemon glared at them one last time before growling and punching a hole through the wall of the apartment in frustration. Releasing a tensed breath, he turned to the civilians and gazed at his troops.

"Sergeant Rena and Corporal Garu." He called out, using their informal nicknames. The two mentionned female shock troopers stepped forward, waiting silently for his next order. "Join the humans, they'll need extra hands. We'll hold out here until help arrives."

Hesitant at first, they sharply saluted and ran out to join the Marines. WereGarurumon and BlackRenamon stopped in their tracks and glanced back at the civilians. They were mostly females and children, caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time. To ease their fears, the two female soldiers gave them a friendly smile and waved happily before sprinting back to the humans. The children waved them back, their parents wishing the two soldiers good luck.

The platoon of Marines waited for them at the doorway, piled up and ready to get back in the fray. Staff Sergeant Renamon gave the two newly arrived troopers an acknowledged nod before cautiously pushing the door open.

The men rushed out, watching their surroundings. Sergeant Roach was on point, guiding the platoon through the maze like streets of the town.

 _"Spartan 1, this is SnakeEater 1-3,"_ The radio crackled with life, _"I've got eyes on your position."_ The pilot informed, the shadow of the large helicopter casted over the Recon Marines, the rotorblades washed them with light dust clouds. _"Be advised, I've spotted at least three dozen tangos, foot mobiles, guarding the courtyard of Tango 1. Proceed with caution."_

"Many thanks, 1-3, see you in a bit." Colbert responded quickly.

 _"Roger..."_

Walking through an abandoned building, the platoon reached a small narrow street, the other buildings towered over them. Roach took his position behind a structural column made of stone, peeking his head a little bit on the outside.

His back against his cover, Roach slowly peeked his left; nothing to report, just an empty street that leads somewhere else. Peeking right, he could see the faint, round-ish, blue tiled roofs of the target building, some sort of praying area like a mosque or something of the likes. Risking to expose himself a little more, he glanced behind him at the other side of the street; an opened door that leads to one of the buildings currently facing the target building. This could be used to their advantage, he thought so.

Facing back the platoon, he pointed to his right, signaling Renamon where it leads, then pointed behind him, showing the opened door of a building. The digimon fox nodded in understanding and pointed at four Marines, nominating them to search, clear and occupy the civilian house. The four Marines nodded, stood up and swiftly made their way in. The others regrouped next to Roach, Colbert behind the platoon and Renamon at the head, ready to rush to the target building.

A single yet tense and silent minute later, Roach could see one of their own poking his arm out, waving at them down below, the coast is clear, building occupied and machine gun team ready.

The 'go ahead' signal went through, the Marines ran out of the building and strided swiftly and silently towards their objective.

The target building was a large, rectangular structure made of polished sandstone bricks, sturdy and flexible metal works and pristine blue, ceramic tiled roofing. Amongst the hundreds of civilian structures, this one must have been the most majestic and certaintly most expensive building for the town. On both sides were two roofless corridors that led directly in the courtyard. There was also an internal hallway on both sides that also leads in the courtyard. Only four barred windows were present on the building's façade.

Going through the outdoor corridor, the Marines stacked up behind Roach silently, they could faintly listen the idle chatter and soft metallic foosteps of enemy troops just a few meters away.

A clear hand signal order came from Roach to the rest of the platoon, three members prepped their fragmentation grenade. They simultaneously pulled the pin and counted down; one thousand one, two thousand two, three thousand three – they all tossed the grenades in different directions, hoping to decimate the opposition force with three grenades, the combined blasts and fragments should be enough.

A panicked scream and three loud blasts later, the Marines breached in the courtyard guns at the ready. Their weapons sniffed for the next target and angrily barked, empty bullet casings impact on the stone paved ground with a metallic melodic tune. Bodies fell and blood decorated the floor and nearby walls. From the outside, the machine gun team cleared out the remaining enemy soldiers on the first floor, a shower of hot lead shot through the windows and eliminated their targets.

The few imperial troopers that survived the onslaught fought back with displine and equal savagery, planning on avenging their fallen comrades with their own hands.

A Commandramon tried to tackle Roach to the ground, fortunately for the human, his superior training allowed him to perform a shoulder strike on the opponent's face, staggering him and giving some distance in the "critical zone". He swiftly took out his M45 sidearm and shot four rounds of .45 ACP in the dramon's chest at close range. Streaks of blood shot out and spilled on Roach's woodland MARPAT trousers and combat boots. He kicked the wounded digimon away and shot three more rounds into him.

"Contact right!" He shouted urgently as three imperials appeared on the stairs leading to the first floor of the façade.

"Shadow Storm!"

Black shards plummeted onto them. The energetic projectiles shot through the hostile digimon with terrifying ease, penetrating digizoid armour like paper, painting the stairs with their blood.

More hostile troops surged in from the stairs at the back of the building. The Marines and the two shock troopers were outnumbered, but not outgunned. Renamon and Roach had their backs on each other, switching targets and covering their surroundings, bullets flying around them.

Five long and intense minutes later, the courtyard fell silent. Bullets, blood and data particles scattered the floor. The two wide squares of tropical plantations were stained by burnt marks, bullet holes and blood.

Unfortunately for Colbert, two Marines fell during the firefight, Sergeant Alexander Olsen and Corporal Lewis Brawse. Two more fallen to burden on Renamon's consciousness. Without a single moment to breathe, the Marines resumed on clearing the building's first floor.

A single golden door was built at the back, filled with intricate digimon designs and digi-letters. Renamon and a squad of Marines prepared themselves to breach in. Placing the C4 charge on the door knob, Sergeant Cody counted down before pressing the detonator's button. A loud 'bang' rang in his ears, he lifted his M4A1 carbine and pushed through the small mist of dust. The Marines dispersed on all sides, clearing each corner.

To their surprise, a lone, chained digimon knelt on the beautiful mosaic floor. The digimon was big, fully clad in silvery white armour and a long royal green cape, tattered and messy, stained by a thick layer of dirt. The digimon knight groggily perked his head up. Two tired yet glimmering orbs gazed up at them, a soft sigh escaped his helmet clad head.

"Took you guys long enough..." He whispered with a faint smile behind his helm.

"WarChief, this is Spartan 1-2, we've found Nobu, I repeat we've found Nobu." Renamon reported dutifully.

 _"Solid copy, Spartan 1-2. Mark LZ with green smoke, escort and extraction teams should arrive in ten minutes. Do you copy?"_

"Negative, we do not have ten minutes, hostile forces are closing in on us."

 _"Sorry, but that's as soon as we can give you. Hang tight, Spartans."_

"Easy to say than done..." She muttered bitterly, "Get him out of his bindings and fortify our defenses, imperials are bound to surround us in any minute now."

"Uh, Staff Sergeant..." Spoke out Roach with uncertainty in his voice, "These chains are kinda... robust."

Indeed, Slayerdramon, his hands binded behind his back, was chained with one of the toughest digimon material in the DigiWorld, one that was the dread of human weaponry, the perfect countermeasure to their superior firepower, Chrome Digizoid.

To make matters worst, his legs were also binded with the same tough metal, negating Slayerdramon freedom of movement, he had been chained to the floor of this room for a couple of days now.

"Do we have anything to bust these?" Asked Corporal Coal.

"C4 ain't worth the risk and a blowtorch will take too long." Roach replied, grunting in frustration.

"What about the Staff Sergeant?"

"None of her attacks are capable to pierce Chrome Digizoid..." He answered matter-of-factly.

"Stay here." Renamon ordered them before phasing out of mid-air.

Entering the large room was Colbert along with two other Marines. Confusion was clear on the officer's face when he notices that their VIP is still bounded to the ground.

"Chrome Digizoid, Lieutenant." Roach responded to his silent question.

Colbert nodded and knelt in front of the prisonner, a sheepish grin on his face, "Uh, sorry about this, sir, but it won't be long so... hang in there."

Slayerdramon let out a soft laugh before gazing into the human's light blue eyes, "Nothing to worry about, human, I'm just glad and grateful that rescue came. I sincerely express my gratitude to you and your troops."

"Heh, not now, sir, you're not free and safe yet." Colbert began with a smile, "You're still in a combat zone and chained to the ground, there is a chance that you might stay here longer than expected."

Another roar of laughter came from Slayerdramon, completely at ease of the situation, "Indeed, human. But I still hope you boys get me out of these binds."

Renamon re-appeared in the room, a frantic WereGarurumon bursted in the room shortly after. A surprised gasp escaped the wolf commando's mouth before she stood straightly, giving Slayerdramon a formal and sharp salute.

"WereGarurumon, just get me out of here before you present yourself like that." Slayerdramon said with annoyance and a roll of his eyes.

"R-r-right! S-sorry!"

Taking her place behind the dramon, she took a fighting stance and closed her eyes. "Garuru Kick!" She shouted passionately, launching a powerful kick that fired a blade of hot energy at the chains binding the high-ranking officer's legs. Though it didn't break instantly, her attack did some significant damage.

At the same time, Colbert's radio came to life suddenly, an urgent voice echoed in the room, _"Spartan 1, this is Spartan 1-5, I've got multiple hostiles coming to you, a dozen are in our building! We need- *static*..."_

 _"Spartans, this is Warchief, be advised: we've spotted at least three dozen hostiles with armour support. Hold your positions until reinforcements arrive. Air support is online and ready to engage, Boogey 1 has permission to fire in the AO. Good luck and God speed, Marines."_

"CONTACT FRONT!"

"Here we go, boys!" Shouted Second Lieutenant Colbert as his Marines took up their defensive positions.

Coming out of the streets was a wave of enemy foot soldiers, charging into a storm of bullets, striking and mowing them down mercilessly.

No words have yet to come from the small overwatch team at the other building.

Bullets and energy projectiles flew in every directions, zipping and snapping in the air, near the Marines. Overpowering their opponents with superior accuracy and solid cover, the Marines had confidence in their ability to hold on for a short while.

Frag grenades started to fly onto the streets as the enemy drew closer in their perimeter. It felt like hours have passed but it was only a few minutes.

Empty, steamy bullet casings fell constantly on the floor, rolling idly away from their owner. Flashes of lights and fire popped up behind the windows and corridors. Green striking streaks of light shot through the streets and through an unfortunate target, bursting blood out of their chest and painted the ground red.

The pungent smell of smoke and gun powder laid heavily in the tense air. Bullet holes peppered the streets and nearby buildings, small size craters dotted the solid ground, dust and smoke slightly obscure their vision, dirt and stone shot up as projectiles hit swiftly and violently the ground.

Their eyes focused behind the sight, senses working at ease, finger systematically pulling the trigger, breath held and short, body stance still and with purpose, shoulder lightly shaken by recoil but hands and arms steady like steel. Blood pumping through their body with hot adrenaline but their mind and heart were cold-blooded. Find a target, eliminate them, proceed to the next one, rinse and repeat. Three shots to the chest, one to the head after they were downed; double-tap is highly recommended.

Body motion strict, minimal yet swift and effectively deadly and precise. Like machines, turrets, no emotion was in their mind. They were calm in a hectic firefight. It was quite easy for them actually; shoot first, ask questions later.

"This is getting more than three dozens!" Stated loudly Sergeant Christos Howell, manning the formidable MK 48 LMG, spraying a shower of 7.62mm of death.

A lucky enemy projectile struck Corporal Tyler Glover, a Force Recon Point Man, across his left cheek. Dropping on the floor with a gasp of pain, he instinctively put his hands over the wound, his M4A1 carbine fell on the floor next to him.

"Man down!" He shouted as he quickly searched for a roll of bandage.

SARC Gordon "Summers" Mackay, the platoon's Navy medic, rushed to his aid, his head low as he avoided numerous enemy fire flying through the window. He slid his way next to Glover and knelt beside him, sliding his med-pack in front of him as he inspects the wound on the Marine operator.

A long gash was on Tyler's cheek, blood profusely bled through his gloved fingers and down his face. With quick but smooth motions, the medic applied a bandage dressing on the wound, instructing Tyler to hold it while he gets up and started to drag him away from the firefight. Struggling to avoid enemy bullets while dragging the heavy man away, BlackRenamon appeared out of nowhere and lent him a hand. Her superior natural strenght allowed the both of them to evacuate safely the wounded away from the firefight.

While the medic attended to his patient, the black and white vixen spotted Tyler's M4A1 on the floor a few feet away. She wanted to grab the rifle and bring it to the Marine when Gordon stopped her abruptly.

"Don't. It might get more use to you than with him." He explained straight forwardly, "Do you know how to use it?" The digimon shook her head. Sighing, he stood up and walked up to her, giving the quick basics of holding and using the firearm. "Buttstock on the shoulder, cheek resting on top of it. Eye focus on the red dot of the holosight, aim it at an enemy. Breathe in slowly, slowly pull the trigger before breathing out slowly. Left hand firm and steady on the handguard, the rifle will kick so be ready for the recoil. I've set the rifle to semi-auto, one shot at a time for better recoil control and accuracy. Got it?"

Though the instructions were brief, she seemed to understand quickly as she nodded at him confidently.

"Alright then, watch your head!" He added before going back to his patient.

BlackRenamon inspected the human weapon in her hands, she have heard and seen many exploits and tales of these small yet lethal weapons that almost every human soldier possesses, and now she has one in her own two paws. Though the grips were a bit small for her big furry paws, the ergonomics were quite comfortable.

Satisfied and estatic to test the weapon through baptism by fire, she joined the other Marines in the firefight.

Taking her position behind solid cover, she examined the nearby Marines, processing and learning their movements; they were the experts in this field after all, might as well copy and learn a thing or two from the professionals.

Lifting the surprisingly light weapon to her right shoulder, she leaned to the right of the window, spotting a couple of hostile troops, her first targets. Remembering her quick crash course on the weapon, she applied the medic's instructions and pulled the trigger. The rifle barked, an empty casing shot out on the side of the rifle, a quick kick to the shoulder and the barrel slightly elevated.

However the result was satisfying, a Commandramon took her shot through the right eye, his head jerked backwards and to the side with spots of blood bursting out and painting the street. The soldier digimon fell on the ground but was not dead yet, he was crawling away with a pained growl. BlackRenamon repeated the action, adjusting her aim on the Commandramon. This time, two shots came out, both struck the Commandramon's spine and head; he fell limplessly, his body twitched a little bit before his data particles started to fly off.

"Oh crap..." She noted in disbelief. That was her first kill with a human weapon, and it certaintly made her feel weird.

"INCOMING!" A Marine shouted after a loud 'thump' was heard outside.

BlackRenamon gasped in horror as her eyes were drawn to a sailing rocket, flying straight at her. Before she could register everything that will ensued after, she felt herself being forcefully tackled by a powerful mass before the world shook violently around her, disrupting her senses and a cloud of dust staining her eyes and making her cough dryly.

Moments later she regained her senses and looked around. To her shock, she had no apparent injuries and more surprising she was saved by someone, the one and only: Renamon.

The other vixen had her arms around her waist and her head on her white mane. Light pink blush appeared on BlackRenamon's face before she heard her saviour grunt in pain. Renamon slowly rose up to a kneeling stance, placing her left paw on her forehead.

"Damn, that hurts a lot more than expected..." She hissed irritatedly. "You okay there-HMMFH?!"

Out of every possible outcome BlackRenamon could've decided, she promted to kiss her idol and saviour, in the middle of a firefight, possibly in front of every Marine... without Renamon's consent. She will probably be court martialed for this.

Fortunately the kiss was brief and fast. Both Renamon remained speechless, one shocked and internally screaming in horror while the other was stunned and blinked emptily while her cheeks were as red as Guilmon's scales.

Thankfully the gunfire was there to remind them of the dangerous reality.

Shaking her head, Renamon rose back to her feet and went back with her Marines as if nothing happened. BlackRenamon decided to help the Marines defending the corridors, prohibiting the enemy from entering the courtyard.

"Warchief! Where the hell is our evac?" Colbert asked in frustration, "I've got two wounded and we're getting surrounded here!"

" _Spartan 1, your evac helo should come anytime soon. The LZ is still too hot, Boogey 1 are doing their best to halt enemy advances in the town-"_

"Fuck it!" He threw the radio back at the platoon radio operator and began taking things into his own matter. "SnakeEater 1-2 and 1-3, this is Spartan 1, I'm requesting an urgent evac on my position, LZ marked by green smoke. Be adviced the LZ is hot."

" _Spartan 1, this is 1-3, inbound in twenty seconds but I'll have to make it quick, I'm currently low on fuel here."_

"Thanks a bunch, 1-3."

The sound of rotorblades cutting through the air was approaching, enemy projectiles tried to take the metal bird down, but the pilot expertly dodged them with the help of the side crew gunners, the M2 Browning machine guns of death grumbled menacingly.

Thankfully, the courtyard was large and wide enough for the helicopter to land, if only there weren't any palm trees.

" _Uh, Spartan 1, we have, uh, a situation, here. The palm trees are blocking the LZ."_ The pilot told him nervously.

"I'll handle this quickly, 1-3."

" _Awesome, dude! We'll hold on in the meantime."_

"Renamon!" The platoon commander called out loudly, "Get someone to take out those fucking trees!"

"On it!" She shouted back and phased out of the firefight.

During the chaos that was happening just outside their safety, WereGarurumon and Slayerdramon waited patiently in the large 'prison' room. The armour clad digimon was meditating peacefully. As for WereGarurumon, she was tasked with protecting him, and it made her nervous each time the ground shook. Worry and stress put her mind in array.

A light knock came from the door, interrupting Slayerdramon from his peaceful state. WereGarurumon opened the door and was surprised to see Renamon instead of her friend and partner.

"We need you, now." She commanded the wolf bluntly. WereGarurumon seemed to be taken aback by the sudden tone, " We're wasting time here." Renamon urged her.

"But what about the VIP?" She asked nervously and hesitantly.

"I can take care of myself, Corporal!" The digimon dragon shouted back.

Nodding in reply, the wolf commando followed the Force Recon digimon to the courtyard. Renamon spun around and pointed at her the palm trees.

"Cut those trees down so that we can get out of here!"

"Right! Stand back!" She warned loudly as she takes a fighting stance. "Garuru kick!" Perfoming a mid-air kick strike, a blade of energy shot out and sliced the palm trees like a hot knife cutting butter.

"1-3, LZ is tree free." Renamon informed the pilot.

" _Shit! Uh right, copy that, landing now. Fuck that was close."_

Dust and dirt kicked up as the air began to rotate violently, generating a cyclone of brown mist. The helicopter hovered still in mid-air, a few feet away from ground. A risky and dangerous manoeuvre but somehow the pilot was skillful enough to pull it off easily.

" _Get the wounded and VIP here now!"_ He urged the Marines.

Little by little while maintaining suppression fire on the enemy, the Marines evacuated the VIP, the wounded and the dead along with WereGarurumon and BlackRenamon.

However the situation got more complicated.

"Sir, what about the overwatch team?" 'Summers' asked concernly.

"Hey!" The air crewman shouted at them, "Hurry up! We're low on fuel!"

Colbert turned back to the medic, then back at the helicopter. "Renamon!" The digimon in question walked up to him expectantly, "Pick a small squad and retrieve the overwatch team. We'll get you at LZ Delta. Got it?"

She nodded in understanding, though in her opinion she didn't particularly liked the task, she however will not leave a man behind, not when she's still standing.

"Roach! Coal! Cody and Jenkins! On me!" She ordered loud and sternly, "We're getting Spartan 2 back!"

The hallway was strangely quiet, despite going through a really chaotic "redecoration". Bullet holes peppered the plastered wall, blood sprayed all over the surface, dripping on the walls and flowing on the wooden floor like numerous rivers.

At the end of the hallway, in the left room, laid four Marines, their backs against the farthest corner to the door. One man, Lance Corporal Andrew Mills, was killed; multiple gunshots to the chest and throat, he was the squad's Point Man.

One man was wounded to the right arm and legs; laser bolt wound and grenade wound respectively. He was Sergeant Carter Frank, the assistant team leader.

The two others were Sergeant Siegfried "Jon" Johansson, the Slack Man, and Corporal Eliott "Trigger" Springs, the SAW gunner, substained minor injuries.

Jon was scratched on the face by a projectile and got a light concussion from an enemy handgrenade, as for Trigger, by a miracle was the least harmed in the small team. Jon had his eyes on the outside, barely peeking out of the window and peering into the crater filled streets while Trigger remained watch on the door, the only entry point for the enemy, his M45 pistol raised and trained on the door, ready to take out the first target to pop in.

The team ran out of ammo during their struggle for survival in the cramped space. A dozen of hostile turned into a whole platoon coming up for their lives, relentlessly trying to kill the four-man team of Force Recon Marines. They somehow held their grounds but the Marines knew they won't handle another wave, until then, they will fight to the very last breath, this is their last stand.

"Shit!" Jon cursed silently, "Chopper's leaving." He informed grumply.

"Nah, man," Began Trigger, "They're probably relocating."

Several intense gunshots interrupted their silence, making Carter jump in surprise and picking up his MK18 MOD 0 by reflex. Enemy voices could be clearly heard in the hallway. More frantic shouts and gunshots were heard before muffled footsteps slowly came up the stairs.

Trigger and Carter readied themselves for the fight, only to be stopped by Jon whom put a reassuring hand on Trigger's left shoulder.

"Don't, the Staff Sergeant is coming for us." He told them in a hushed whisper.

A couple of seconds later and a familiar head popped in, making both Carter and Trigger huff out in relief.

"You're a sight for sore eyes, Staff Sergeant." Jon said jokingly with a cheeky grin.

"Not sure I can say the same for you guys." Renamon shot back sarcastically.

"Ouch, Staff Sergeant, now I feel inadequate for my fiancée." Carter pointed out with a humourous tone.

"What's the sitrep?" She demanded dutifully before looking down at Andrew Mills, visibly pained.

"Mills didn't make it, Staff Sergeant." Jon replied grimly. "And Carter has his legs busted by a grenade."

She sighed inwardly, "What about you two?" She asked while metionning both Jon and Trigger.

"We can still fight, Staff Sergeant." Trigger answered confidently.

"Coal, Jenkins, put Mills in the bodybag and carry him. Jon and Trigger, you guys will have to carry Carter out of here. Cody and Roach, you're on point now. Oorah?"

"Oorah, Staff Sergeant!" They all replied determined and focused.

"1-3, this is Samurai 1, we're Oscar-Mike to LZ Delta, ETA five minutes. Be aware that we have one wounded and one KIA. I repeat: one wounded and one KIA. How copy? Over."

" _Copy that, Samurai 1. We're at LZ Delta now. Hostiles are still present in the AO and coming for you. Good luck out there, Staff Sergeant."_

"1-3 out, radio silence is on." She warned before following her men outside.

Traveling through the town proved to be delicate and difficult with enemy soldiers going through the streets by the dozens. The Force Recon Marines had to move swiftly, with caution but also stealthly. Fortunately, the team managed to do so; they were trained for this.

Coming through a small family shop, they were met with the large abandonned street outside. The shop's front windows were shattered and laid across the white tiled floor. Small cracks echoed painfully in the shop as the Marine moved in. Cody peered into the street, scanning left and right. Across the street, facing the shop was the small restaurant, which through its back door will lead the Marines to their objective, the school's recess area, their LZ point. Thumbs up, coast is clear.

"Go! Go!" Renamon ushed urgently.

Roach was the first to cross, then came Coal and Jenkins with the bodybag. Following just behind was Jon, Trigger and Carter. Finally it was Renamon and Cody. A loud 'fump' disturbed the eerie silence, a high pitch sail got closer and closer by the seconds.

"FUCK! INCOMING!"

A rocket shot through the street sailing at high speeds. Renamon's quick reflexes and training instinct kicked in, time seemed to slow down yet not enough. Without thinking, she lunged forward with her left paw out, desperate to grab Cody. Successfully, she had a firm grip on the man's plate carrier and yanked him backwards with all of her might with the limited time they both had.

The explosive ammunation barely passed Cody and hit a corner of the restaurant. The world around them shook, senses all confused and fuzzed. Renamon felt her body being thrown to the ground by the powerful shockwave caused by the blast. Hitting her head hard against the stone paved road, her vision blurred due to pain and concussion.

Sporatic gunfire rang in her troubled ears. Pain shot through her whole body, the back of her head was especially throbbing heavily. She felt as if the shockwave have crushed her chest and her internal organs flat, struggling the breathe properly and warm liquid came out of her notril and back of her skull.

Wheezing in pain, she tried to sit up. Managing to do the bare minimum, the digimon huffed heavily as her senses came back to her bit by bit. Looking around dazily, she spotted Cody laying on the floor a few ahead of her. Slowly and with pain, she crawled to him, hoping to see him breathing and alive.

What she saw hurt her.

Cody's left leg, up to the kneecap, had been blown off by the blast. His other leg was in a horrible shape, deep gashes were evident through his combat trousers. His left arm was bloodied and dark, caused by the explosive blaze. His plate carrier was completely ripped apart, revealing more holes and burnt flesh. His face was covered in his own blood, bleeding profusely through his ears and nostrils.

Refusing to give up, she groaned in agony, slowly rising back up to her weak feet, ignoring the flying projectiles of the ensuing firefight. Her body trembled but her resolve steeled through the stinging and crushing pain.

She grasped Cody's unconscious body and lifted him off the ground, picking him up on her shoulders. Grunting with effort and breathing dryly, she dashed the last few meters in the restaurant. Once in safety she dropped on her knees roughly, gasping as more pain shot through her beaten body. She was tired for some reason.

She gently dropped Cody on the floor and blankly stared at him. During the whole time, a muffled voice was screaming at her constantly through her drumming ears and loud gunshots. Then a hand grasping her shoulder snapped her back to reality.

"Renamon! We need to go now!" Roach shook her, his eyes filled with worry but his tone was urgent and commanding. "On your feet, Marine! Get Cody out of here! Trigger and I will cover you!"

Without responding she followed his commands. She picked Cody back up and followed the rest of the team, the gunshots still echoing loudly in her head.

Thankfully the trek to the LZ was short. The CH-53 Sea Stallion has landed, the ramp down and a couple of Force Recon Marines came out, forming a defensive perimeter. She boarded the helicopter, Summers quickly ran to her and took Cody off her shoulders. Her mind was still dizzy, not knowing how to respond properly or doing anything. The gunshots attracted her attention.

She spun around and looked outside the aircraft; she saw Trigger and Roach running towards the Sea Stallion while the others were already in. The menacing bark of the M2 Browning machine gun shot through the air, 12.7mm rounds decimated and destroyed the pursuing enemy, ending their lives in a bloody and spectacular explosion of guts and flesh painting the ground.

Roach jumped in the helicopter, his teammates gave additional cover fire as Trigger was a couple of meters away. Then he fell down, a trail of blood just behind him. He turned on his back, crimson blood tainted his leg and spilled all over the ground. Though hurt, his fighting spirit was still strong, firing back at the enemy with his pistol while slowly crawling back.

"Someone get him!" Shouted the co-pilot at the Marines, "We need to lift now or we're all going to die here!"

Being the fastest of the entire platoon, Renamon sprinted out of the chopper and carried Trigger back to safety. The man cursed as he used by accident his wounded leg, pain shooting through his whole system. Setting foot in the helicopter, Renamon breathe out with relief, another Marine could finally go back home alive. If only that was true.

She felt his body pushed forward before dropping heavily on the side. She heard something hit a very soft and fleshy surface. From what she could see, the floor was covered with gore; blood, brain matter and pieces of the skull. She looked back at Trigger and her eyes went wide with horror, her blood went cold. A large hole came from the back of the helmet and went through the entire skull and out of the other side of the protective gear. A clean headshot with a messy end.

"Son of a bitch!" Shouted Coal with anger, "Man down! Fuck, Eliott's gone!"

Struck by the sudden death of Eliott Springs, Renamon sat down on the passenger compartement floor, traumatized. She let out a shaky gasp, her hands trembled, her legs too weak to move out of the medic's way as he inspected Eliott's deceased body. She simply stared blankly out of the helicopter, the rural town filled with black thick plumes of smoke and craters flew farther away from her.

The trip back to base was silent.

The helicopter made its slow descent on the base's landing platform. It jerked up roughly before letting the rear ramp down. The Marines got out with solemn and stoic looks, four of their brother-in-arms have fallen, carrying their body bags towards the medical convoy that awaited them. BlackRenamon and WereGarurumon guided Slayerdramon out and led him towards a digimon medical staff. Renamon was the last one out. She felt exhausted to go anywhere and her mate was already away in the frontline which means no more comforting hugs at night for two weeks.

Cody got transported away to receive an immediate surgery with Carter soon taken away for treatment and surgery. The remaining of the platoon split off in silence, others went to the mess hall while some went straight for their barracks, wanting to wash away the grime and blood or sleep now. Renamon was still on the landing platform.

A youthful medic came to her. The medic seemed to have just arrived in the Digital World and this must have been her first time on the job, her first time and she has to witness this mess. It was evident she was an inexperienced soldier, unlike the Digital Marines who demands Marines with at least a year of service or combat experience, most armed forces recruit any servicemen and servicewomen into the IDDF. A desperate measure for a desperate time.

"Are you okay, sir?" The medic asked with concern in her light voice, clearly not knowing who Renamon was. "Are you hurt?"

"Y-yeah..." Renamon finally responded, "Back of my head hurts and I think, uh, my chest is bruised."

The U.S Army medic nodded and set the digimon down, sitting in front of her and held up a torchlight, inspecting her eyes then the injury on the back. Though inexperience, Renamon could tell that the medic was doing her job with professionalism and care. Her touch was soft but precise. She cleaned the wound then applied a bandage roll around the vixen's head.

"Nothing to worry, Staff Sergeant," She said with a reassuring tone, "Just a head bump that is all. Oh, and put this against your nose." She instructed while giving her a small pack of ice.

The medic took a white towel and wiped Renamon's bleeding nose. She then took off her plate carrier and pressed a gentle hand against her upper torso. She winced to the soft touch but tried to dismiss the fact.

"No need to act tough to me, ma'am, I know when it hurts." She pointed out with small grin. "Looks like you hurt your ribcages."

"Again..." Renamon hissed irritatedly.

"Tough luck, but at least you're still alive." She stated cheerfully after concluding her inspection. "Soo, what's your name?" She asked with a friendly tone.

"Renamon..."

"I'm Sarah. Nice to meet you."

"... Nice to meet you too..."

* * *

 _September 20th 2019, thirty klicks away from the town Burgundy ._

Grass, the one thing the Marines of Alpha company are currently missing is grass.

Though it may sound dull, it was at least more interesting than dry, greenless and desolate land. If it were not for the deteriorated, two lane, concrete road, the Marines could have been lost in the middle of nowhere with little to no life around them.

Another thing bothering them, other than insufferable heat, was boredom. Boredom, a soldier's worst enemy, below dihydration and above the enemy.

"Avenger 1-1 to Paladin, smoke trails up ahead, 500 meters, possible hostile activity, over." Informed the lead vehicle of the convoy.

" _Roger that, keep your eyes open, gentlemen."_ Instructed the company commander.

"Man, fuck this heat." Cursed the turret gunner of the lead L-ATV. "Shouldn't it be autumn by now? Can't the Digital World just change the weather on its own?"

"How about shutting the fuck up, Dom? Can you do that?" Shot back the driver of the Light Tactical Vehicle.

Joining the Marines in their trek to this desolate and barren landscape were two squadrons of battle tanks from the 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division, and a three-digimon medical team from the United Alliance Federation - formely the Fusion Fighters United Army.

Lance Corporal Dominic Lockheed was about to respond when something caught his attention on the horizon.

"I've got eyes on something." He informed with a more serious tone. "Three hundred meters, maybe more. Do you see it?"

"Yeah." Replied the driver, Corporal Adam Dillon, now focused ahead of him.

"Paladin, this is Avenger 1-1, we have eyes on something at plus three hundred meters ahead of us." Reported Sergeant Bruce Galloway through the radio, "Requesting your orders, Paladin. Over."

" _1-1, Paladin, proceed on objective. Report back when you have clearer line of sight. Over."_

"Roger that, 1-1 out. Keep that gun trained on that." He instructed before searching in his rucksack for his pair of binoculars. He peered into it and observed closely ahead. He immediately cursed and took the radio back.

"Paladin, this is 1-1, correction on last report; we have clear visibility on a dozen of digimon. I repeat, a dozen of digimon ahead of us."

" _Do they seem hostile? Are they armed?"_

"Negative, it doesn't seem like it. However I cannot confirm if they're either friendly or hostile."

" _1-1, proceed on the objective. If they do anything funny, you light them up. If not, you stop at a distance of a hundred meters ahead of them. How copy? Over."_

"Solid copy, Paladin, 1-1 proceeding to objective and maintain visual on the digimon, over."

"Christ...there are more of them." Dominic reported in disbelief, "Make that three or four dozen digimon."

"Paladin, 1-1, it appears that there are more digimon on sight, maybe three or four dozens, maybe more. How do we proceed? Over."

" _1-1, Paladin, maintain with the original plan. If hostile you eliminate them, if not you stop. Over."_

"Roger. Over and out."

"Dude, I do not like to look of this shit..." Adam remarked cynically. "I have a bad feeling about this..."

"Heh, you can say that again." Joked the driver while focusing on the road.

"Stop the vehicle." Bruce commanded abruptly. The wheels wheezed on the concrete by the sudden halt. "Out of the vehicle, weapons ready." He instructed and went out of the L-ATV.

The whole convoy halted suddenly, the rest of Bruce's squad followed and took firing stances, lined up and weapons drawn up. Dominic racked the charching handle of the heavy machine gun turret, releasing a mechanical 'snap' as a fifty caliber round was chambered.

Bruce took a few steps ahead of his squad, his men were tense and immobile like stone cold statues. He waited that the group of digimon to stop at their hundred meter mark. The group seemed to be led by some sort of mage as they strided at the head of the large group. They seemed to notice the line of Marines but fatigue was evident on them, probably the reason they didn't stop yet.

Raising his left hand, Bruce shouted sternly: "HALT!" The digimon stopped on command, "You are in the way of the IDDF, state your name and remain where you are!" He demanded, raising his voice.

The mage at the head of the group stepped forward, placing a hand on their chest and gazed straight to the Marines. "I am Flawizarmon, the village's apothecary and sadly its only protector." He explained solemnly, "We seek refuge away from the warzone, so please, dear sir, let us be on our way." He pleaded formally and politely.

Sensing no hostility, the Marines relaxed and lowered their weapons. Bruce slowly walked up to the digimon apothecary. "Where are you from?"

"From the smoking village you see in the distance." The digimon replied with grief, "The Imperials have begun their campaign of scorched earth, our village is in ashes now." He revealed to the Marine.

"God damn..."

The company has established a makeshift medical station. The six Abrams tanks that accompanied the convoy spreaded out to the sides, securing and covering the flanks, they are the watchful guards of the company. The dozen or so Amtraks formed the primary defensive wall of the makeshift camp surrounding the large group of refugees and the two medical tents along with some of the unarmoured military trucks. Next were the LAVs, acting as the second line of defense. Finally were the APCs, the camp's "sentries" and checkpoints, the outer wall or some sort.

The medical staff, human and digimon, were busy with inspecting, diagnosting and helping the numerous sick and injured digimon civilians. There was a total of a hundred forty digimon in the camp, the medics and physicians were overwhelmed with work. As for the others, Marines were tasked with checking on the digimon to make sure no imperial spies have slipped through or a bomb. Insurgency or not, it is better to be safe than sorry... or dead in their case.

Marines interviewed some of the locals, offering them water and food in return for their useful information.

Black smoke clouds tainted the clear skies, shadowing the village in its embrace. Fire lit up the once populated settlement. Buildings eventually collapsed on their own, swallowed up by the violent and intense blaze. There was no life present in the area, the town's populace were either killed or escaped just in time before the massacre.

Peering his eyes away from his binoculars, Raymond spat on the ground, his throat dry and itchy. After taking a quick sip of water from his camelbak, he spun around and faced his subordinates, the platoon commanders waiting for his orders.

"Alright gents, we have one hour before we are behind schedule, finish your original tasks and get ready to move out. Helos should be here in twenty minutes, Staff Sergeant Kead will pop green smoke on our LZ. Once we pack everything up, we move out for Burgundy. Any questions?"

There was a silent reply to his question.

"Then let's-"

A loud 'bang' echoed throughout the arid environment. A sharp snap blew next his left ear before he felt a violent and swift force punching his head to the ground. He felt his whole head snap sideway and neck twisting suddenly before hitting the concrete road. His head was throbbing painfully, an agonizing headache surged in, warm liquid poured onto his forehead.

"CONTACT!"

It was the last thing he heard before falling unconscious.


	32. Chapter 31

Chapter 31:

Scorched Earth

The first shot went by in slow-motion before everything went fast suddenly.

The captain was on the ground, presumably unconscious, the others dived on the road while he immediately dropped on his stomach.

"CONTACT!" A Marine shouted before rounds started to fly over his head.

Dukeman lied flat on the road just two meters away from Raymond. Screams from the civilians were mixed with the distinct barks of M240s and heavy 'thumps' of the heavy machine guns, he could see green tracers speeding across the empty fields like shooting stars.

"Man down!" He shouted before crawling closer to Raymond.

The captain was still alive, his lightweight helmet barely saved him from having his brain splattered all over the burning concrete ground.

"Cover fire!" Yelled Second Lieutenant Sparks, running to the Gunnery-Sergeant.

Dukeman stood back up and picked up one shoulder strap of Raymond's plate carrier, "PICK AND RUN!" He warned at the nearby Marines as he and Sparks dragged Raymond towards the closest vehicle.

Another enemy round just zipped pass his right foot. He swallowed air rapidly and heavily, his heart beating at a thousand kilometers per hour.

"Corpsman up!" Sparks demanded at the top of his lungs, loud enough to break through the sound barrier of heavy gunfire.

A Navy Corpsman arrived just on cue and inspected the captain's injury, taking off the now destroyed helmet and wiping the excessive blood away.

Dukeman listened attentively to the firefight. For now, he hasn't heard another enemy fire for the past five minutes. The Marines continued to mercilessly shower the landscape with bullets.

"Order a cease fire," He ordered to the Second Lieutenant before standing back up, "Cease fire! Cease fire!" He yelled sternly.

Little by little, the platoon leaders did the same, issuing a cease fire order. The intense, sporatic gunfire died down eventually. Silence reigned over the men, weapons still up in case of another surprise attack. The refugees had their heads down, grouped up and shaking with fear, the children were sobbing in fright.

Moments later, Dukeman took a step forward, then another, and so forth until reaching the same spot where Raymond had been standing minutes ago. Exposing himself in the open, he took the binoculars on the ground and scanned the surroundings, trying to determine the sniper's location.

Nothing... The enemy must've escaped.

A grunt and a surprised gasp caught his attention. He turned around and was relieved to see his friend and company commander awake and relatively fine. Raymond winced in pain when he placed his left palm on his injury.

"Fuck... what just happened?" He asked tiredly and confusely.

Dukeman chuckled and picked up his destroyed helmet, waving it over Raymond's face. "You took an enemy bullet to the head."

"Ah Christ... I must be one lucky fucker..." He stated with sarcasm. He slowly got back up to his feet with the help of the corpsman. "That's like... the fourth helmet this year, so far."

"Looks like the enemy has pinned your head with a price." Dukeman deduced.

"Greaat, I'm HVT now, I bet one of you sold me out." Raymond said jokingly.

"What are your orders, sir?" Sparks asked, standing beside Dukeman.

"I'm going to need your platoon to scout out the village, see if there are any survivors or enemy presence." Raymond ordered as he inspects his helmet with amazement. "If their sniper is here, there is a possibility that there are more in the village. The rest of us will stay and wait for the helos to come."

Sparks nodded and executed the order, grouping up his platoon to brief them on their next mission. Raymond let out a gasp and called the Lieutenant back.

"Oh actually, I'm coming with you." He added, much to Sparks's and Dukeman's surprise.

"You're going with them?" His friend asked incredously.

"Yeah..." Raymond shrugged nonchalantly, "I'll leave you in charge here. Regroup with us once you're done here. Oorah?"

"Oorah...I guess" His 2IC muttered under his breath.

* * *

Most of the fire has burned away, leaving behind ashes and debris. Almost everything in the small village was burned to the ground and with the lack of corpses, it was impossible to get an estimate of civilians killed in the fire.

The small detachment of vehicles stopped at the town centre. The Marines got out of the vehicles cautiously, scanning their surroundings before spreading out into fireteams.

Ash swept up as his combat boots made contact with the lunar grey ground. Raymond looked around him, observing the damage caused by the Imperials' tactic.

Dropping onto the ground next the humans was Junior Sergeant Sorcerimon, a digimon medic. Hanging on his side was a large satchel with a red cross on a white background circle sewed on it. Taking meek steps away from the human vehicle, he gazed upon the destruction caused by the Imperials.

Sadness filled his heart. He wasn't a fighter, despite his abilities. He was more of a pacifist, wanting to aid digimon but alas in wars, civilians were always the victims. War is ugly and bad. There was nothing he could do, he knew the result, any civilian trapped in the fire was dead; very few could survive this.

With a sad sigh, he walked back to the vehicle. He leaned against one of the massive wheels of the MRAP and waited patiently.

The Marines continued their search throughout the destroyed settlement. They broke down doors, calling out for survivors in the building, they announced their presence, a risk to them but a necessary action to find any survivors. Minutes of search later proved this to be fruitless.

"What's the sitrep, Lieutenant?" Sparks turned to face the captain with a stoic face.

"No survivors, sir." He reported neutrally, "By the size of the village, we could wildly guess there were five hundred to seven hundred civilians here, that's including the survivors we just met."

"And any signs of imperials?"

"Negative, Captain. Looks like our sniper ran away as soon as they fired the second shot." Sparks concluded. Raymond nodded and allowed the Lieutenant to regroup his platoon.

"Get back to the vehicles and get ready to move out!" Raymond bellowed the order, the Marines quickening their pace.

"Hurry up! We're behind schedule!" Sparks added.

"Why are they doing this?" Sorcerimon asked out loud, getting Raymond's attention.

"To slow us down, Sergeant." Raymond stoically answered, "They knew we would stop to aid the local population. This will give them additional time to bolster their defenses."

"This is madness." Sorcerimon commented grimly.

"It's war, doc."

* * *

The heat was becoming unbearable for the Marines and digimon civilians. First Lieutenant Angewomon, the team leader of the digimon medical team, was beginning to worry. They had limited medical supplies and water ressources. The helicopters were ten minutes late from their supposed arrival. At this rate, children and eldery will begin to get sick due to dihydration and heat stroke.

The human corpsmen did their best to calm the locals while Senior Sergeant Fairimon was entertaining the children, making them laugh despite their dire situation.

"Excuse me, Marine." She called out calmly, "When are the helicopters suppose to arrive?"

"Ten minutes ago, ma'am, "The Marine replied, "They should be here in five minutes" He informed her before resuming his task.

Looking around, she spotted Flawizardmon, the refugees' protecter, discussing with Gunnery-Sergeant Dukeman. She started to walk towards them, hearing the conversation as she closed in on them.

"Temporary homes will be built to allocate your people." Dukeman explained.

"I appreciate the help but aren't there any friendly forces near us?" The digimon wizard asked.

The human Marine shook his head, "The Army is a hundred klicks behind us and the rest of our battalion is about seventy klicks away from us. They can't slow down."

"Gunnery-Sergeant," Angewomon announced her presence, standing beside the wizard with a frown. "What is taking them so long to get here?"

"The Japanese helos were low on fuel, they had to RTB to re-fuel. They should arrive soon, ma'am."

"Can't we contact any nearby digimon units? The heat is going to get the refugees sick." She informed him urgently.

"I understand your concern but we are behind schedule. If we keep slowing down our progress the enemy will have enough time to fully fortify the town and making our invasion much harder. All forces are on the move and cannot stop. We shouldn't even be here right now."

"Oh for the-"

The sound of rotorblades in the air made some of the Marines cheer in hope. Out in the distance, they could see faint silhouettes of half a dozen of Chinooks.

Quickly, the Marines gathered the refugees into groups in an orderly fashion. A green smoke was flung out on the ground a couple of meters away from the convoy. As the Chinooks approached and prepared to make a landing, dry dirt and sand swept over the convoy, the humans and digimon shielding their faces with their hands or cloth.

The first Chinook touched the ground, the rear ramp opened up and two JSDF medics came out. Dukeman and Angewomon joined and reported the situation. Meanwhile the Marines escorted the civilians into the helicopter. The others soon landed near the first, forming a diamond pattern at the LZ.

A few minutes later, the civilians bid farewell to the Marines and the digimon medical team before getting into the helicopters. Once they were all in, the massive transport helicopters took off and flew back to base.

Quickening their pace, the Marines got in their vehicles and waited for Raymond's order.

 _"Warlord, this is Paladin, civilians had been evacuated. We're moving out for Burgundy. Over."_

 _"Affirmative, Paladin, friendly forces are already near the objective and currently engaging enemy forces. You should be able to flank them and take out their rear guard. Over."_

 _"Roger that, we're Oscar-Mike to Objective Charlie. ETA forty mikes. Over and Out."_

* * *

 _September 20th 2019, Burgundy, near the Emerald River, 1940 hours, Operation "Phatom Storm"._

The night lit up over the town, bright streaks of light shooting upwards, exploding on the dark clouds.

The echoes of war could be heard throughout Burgundy, raging across the skies and town. From the skies, IDDF air forces launched their combined air strikes, crippling enemy ground and air forces.

Shortly after, Royal Knights and their Strike Forces swooped down into the town, controlling key locations with the aid of IDDF special forces.

In just a few minutes, the main infantry force and armoured support will charge the town from all sides, surrounding the enemy. Paratrooper units had already cut off their supply lines and communications.

The simultaneous attack was a powerful blow to the Imperial defenses, overwhelming them with superior numbers, heavy support and superior firepower.

Sergeant Flamedramon stared at the other side of the river, a thin layer of concrete wall was the only thing acting as the town's limit. Connecting the town to the arid landscape was a single steel and concrete bridge, large enough to accomodate two rows of tanks.

The blue dragon lifted his M16A4 rifle to his shoulder, his right eye peering into the ACOG.

He calmly observed the wall, it could easily be taken over, a simple obstacle for the Marines.

The radio on the back of his plate carrier buzzed to life.

 _"Four mikes."_ Lieutenant Sparks's voice came through.

Like him, Marines laid flat on the dry ground, the darkness covering their silhouettes, waiting for the moment to strike. Next to him was Corporal Guilmon, backpack filled with C4 explosives and mortar shells. The lightweight M224 60mm mortar was nestled under his right arm, he cradled it carefully, ready to spring to action if the need arises.

The ground rumbled, the sound of vehicle engines and treads echoed behind the Marines. His radio crackled, Flamedramon listened to the comms.

 _"Alpha Pack, proceed with phase "Geronimo"."_

 _"Copy that, Warlord, Alpha Pack inbound."_ Responded Raymond with a hushed voice.

"That's the signal, move out!" Ordered Sparks as soon as he was on his feet.

"Stay behind me, Guilmon!" As ordered, Guilmon followed Flamedramon, hauling over his shoulders the mortar.

In a instant, dozens of Marines sprung out of cover, charging straight for the bridge. They rushed towards the bridge, the enemy still distracted by the other attacks.

"Move! Move!"

"Let's hustle, Marines!"

"Keep moving!"

First platoon crossed the bridge, so far so good. Sparks's Marines hit their backs against the wall, breathing heavily.

"Flamedramon, charges." Sparks ordered.

"On it." He replied, signaling Guilmon to come with him.

The two digimon applied the C4 explosive charges across the wall. Once set, the platoon backed away far enough to be away from the blast zone.

"Fire in the hole!" Flamedramon, half-whispered half-shouted.

The concrete wall blasted in debris and pieces, a large opening cleared the way for the Marines and their vehicle support.

"Move out!" Sparks shouted as Marines started to pour into the town.

Unfortunately, the blast had gathered nearby attention. The defenders struggled to get some order amongst their line as they witness Marines charging through the hole. Machine gun nests started to open fire, taking out some of the humans and pinning them down across the small water channel that separated the apartments and the Marines.

"MG! Get down!"

"Contact front! Other side of the street! Fifty meters!"

Barely avoiding the incoming bullets, Flamedramon took cover behind a tree. He spun around, rifle up and took aim. He returned fire, managing to take out one of the machine gunners. Others responded back, their weapons shooting green tracers, in contrast to the Imperials' red tracers. It ressembled comically to a laser battle, just like in Star Wars.

Instead of 'pew pews' and blast sounds, these guns were incredibly loud, barking and snapping in the air with metallic whistles as they flew over the heads of Marines and legionaires.

Flamedramon took out the spent mag, replacing it with another fresh 30-round magazine into the M16A4. Seeing as the enemy is slowing their progress, the Marines need to act fast and now.

Thankfully tanks were made to give that push. Bursting out of the wall with a crash, the M1A3 Abrams tank known as "Demolisher" turned its main gun turret to the enemy line and let out a high explosive shell soaring across the street, destroying their defenses. For added measures, Demolisher fired simultaneously its two machine guns, spraying 7.62mm and 12.7mm rounds into the enemy, decimating their numbers.

"MGs out! We're in business, Marines!"

With the tanks behind them and soon the rest of the armoured convoy, the infantry pushed further up; their objective: the Imperial Headquarters. Built on top of a small hill, the Imperials took over the town's castle decades ago, turning it into their HQ of the region and a prestigious academy to train imperial officers.

Capturing it will severely break enemy morale and their last stronghold before the invasion of their capital city.

"Set up the mortar, Flamedramon!" Sparks commanded, pointing at the spot for mortar.

With Guilmon, the two digimon set up the lightweight mortar down, deploying its tri-pod and adjusting its aim. Flamedramon's squad formed a defensive line around the digimon with Sparks waiting a few feet ahead.

"Mortar up!" Guilmon shouted after the adjustments were done.

"Fire mission; Two rounds, Shell HE, Fuze Quick, 200 meters, Deflection 0020, Quadrant 120, Fire for Effect!" Sparks commanded, Flamedramon repeated the order to Guilmon.

"On the way!"

A quick 'thump' shot out of the mortar, the high explosive ammunation flew over the Marines and dived down onto enemy forces with a whistle of death. Shortly after the second round was up in the air. The first round blew up just behind enemy cover, destroying it and killing half a dozen legionaires; the second round finishing the survivors.

While First Platoon brought death from above, Second Platoon fought the enemy head-on with the tank and two LAV-25.

At the foot of the hill were enemy soldiers, gunning down incoming Marines. The Imperials had sandbags and barricades along the stairs to the castle, two mortar teams were set at the top of the marches with two Tankdramon providing extra firepower, additional snipers and machine gun teams were positioned on the castle's walls and towers, pinning the Marines down.

The LAVs spat out salvos of 25mm rounds, reducing enemy resistance. Taking cover behind a building, Cyberdramon's squad stacked up behind him. A couple of meters ahead was a footbridge above the street, the enemy's attention was on the armoured column, giving Second squad an opportunity to flank them with their pants down.

"Alpha and Charlie team on me, Bravo team overwatch on the bridge. Go!" Commanded sergeant Rand.

Swiftly the Marines got out of cover and sprinted towards the bridge. Bravo team set up the machine guns and rifles, letting Alpha and Charlie team pass behind them. Corporal Cyberdramon was at the head of the team, setting up his M240B on the bridge's metallic railing.

"Hold your fire, we're waiting for Third squad." He instructed, racking his LMG.

The combined salvos of 25mm rounds and 60mm shells devastated the enemy defenses. Shells screamed out of the M1A3 Abrams tanks, breaking through enemy line with deadly force.

Looking back, Cyberdramon spotted Third Squad making a run across the street.

"Weapons free! Light 'em up!"

Blinding weapon flashes suddenly light up the footbridge, sending out rapid fire of hot lead across the main street, unfortunate Imperials were showered by the new incoming wave of bullets. Blood spewed out and Imperials were being flung away by the combined shellings of tanks and mortars.

His weapon kicked hard but his superior raw strenght enables him managable recoil control. Firing long bursts, he quickly switch one target to another. Empty, warm bullet casings ejected out on the side, hitting the ground with a distinct melodic sound along with the other metallic tunes creating an ironic peaceful melody to the loud and sporatic chaos of the battlefield.

One of the Tankdramon took two tank shells on the chest and head, exploding into scrap metal and fire, obliterating the Imperials near him.

Disoriented and fired upon on all sides, the legionaires were losing the firefight fast, the Marines pushed further up and closing in their perimeter.

"I want sitrep on Third squad!" Cyberdramon demanded while reloading his machine gun.

"Third squad has crossed the bridge, sir!" Informed loudly a Private First Class.

"That's our cue. Move out!" The automatic gunners were the first ones to leave, followed by the riflemen and Cyberdramon just behind.

Incoming enemy fire prompted the Marines to duck their heads. The bullets hit railings, sending off metallic 'pings' and ricochet all over them. A sudden burning pain shot across Cyberdramon's left shoulder, making the digimon cuss in surprise while he kept moving, shrugging it off.

A thunderous 'clap' could be felt at the end of the street. Some of the Marines started to cheer.

"More tanks on the way!"

"Fuck yeah!"

* * *

Suppressing the enemy forces with tanks and LAVs, the armoured support did quick work in disposing the resistance. Observing their progress, Raymond stood just beside the LAV-C2, his eyes peering into his tactical binoculars, completely absent of the incoming rounds that barely missed his figure.

"I suggest you duck your head a little, skipper." Dukeman told him with irony in his voice.

"I'm working here, mom." Raymond shot back with a sly grin.

The Gunnery-Sergeant shook his head and forcefully pushed Raymond down to a knee. "There, Captain, you'll be much safer."

Raymond merely chuckled at his friend's constant worried state. "Goddamn it, Dukeman, I told you I was fine."

"Not for long if you keep being a reckless idiot." Dukeman pointed out dryly.

"Are we seriously going to argue like an old married couple?" Raymond joked, getting into Dukeman's nerves. The latter simply sighed in irritation.

"One day you'll be the death of me, Captain." He dryly said.

"I better die before you then." Raymond joked before shifting his focus back on the fort. "Looks like they're retreating back into the fort."

"Should we blow the entrance then?"

"Sadly, Command wants us to do minimal damage on the fort if possible, so no dynamic entries."

He felt a light tap on top of his lightweight helmet. He looked up into the night sky and felt wet droplets hitting his face. Putting his binos back into his assault pack and shouldering his M4A1 carbine; he stood up and walked behind the vehicle, peaking inside the LAV.

In there he spotted his new executive officer, First Lieutenant Edward Sullivan, coordinating with the tank squadrons on the radio.

"First Lieutenant!" Raymond called out, catching the XO's attention, "I'm trusting you with the company HQ, I'm off to the frontline." He explained without letting Sullivan to protest.

The young officer simply sighed in dismay, he knew what he was in for when he read Raymond's files prior to his transfer in the company.

"Why does he do that?" He asked rhetorically at himself.

"No clue, Lieutenant, but skipper does have some balls." Answered the driver of the LAV behind him.

"Fair enough."

First and Second platoon walked cautiously up the stone marches. Smoking craters and burnt sandbags scattered all over the stairs. A couple of wounded Imperials were found along the way, their hands showing up as a sign of surrender. Corpsmen and a few Marines quickly grabbed them and escorted them down the steps.

Once gathered and ready to breach, the Marines busted the door in, rushing in with guns at the ready.

They found themselves in a wide and open area, stone columns supported the arched ceiling built with refined wood work. Velvet drapes were hung from the columns, decorating the hall with its rich red colour. A couple of wooden doors had been spotted along the hall.

The human soldiers spreaded out, squads began to clear each door while Raymond and Dukeman arrived in the main hall. Raymond was impressed with the fort's interior decor. Both Second Lieutenant Sparks and Martinez saluted sharply at Raymond's attention. He and Dukeman saluted back.

"Sitrep, gents."

"The rooms here are cleared, Captain, mostly offices and personal quarters and storage rooms for the main kitchen." Reported Sparks dutifully.

"My platoon is ready to move up on your signal, Captain." Informed Martinez, eager and wanted his platoon to lead the way.

"Sparks, your platoon will hold position until reinforcements can join us. Martinez, get your Marines ready, we're going up."

The platoon commanders saluted and transfer the orders. Striding forward at a casual pace, Raymond examined the decorations around the hall. He just noticed that he was walking on a pristine red carpet that laid throughout the fort, starting from the front entrance.

Ahead of him was a wide stairway, which then branched out on the sides to the first floor. At the top of the first stairway was the portrait of a BanchoLeomon, probably the fort's previous owner before the Imperial occupation.

Raymond gave a nod to Martinez, signaling the whole platoon to move up. The platoon split into two columns. The men warily checked every corner as they mount up the steps, one careful step at a time. Each column then followed one of the branched out stair cases.

More doors welcomed them, squads began to clear them out. Almost in sync with each other, the Marines kicked in the door and were surprised to see unarmed Imperial troops. Marines shouted angrily at them, ordering them to get on the floor with their hands behind their back.

The humans roughly took one Imperial out of the room at a time. Some weren't even soldiers, they were simple maids, cooks and other staff members of the fort.

Dozens of digimon were then escorted outside the fort. Meanwhile it was Third platoon's turn to search and clear the fort's second floor. The same event happened to them; dozens of unarmed Imperials walked out of the room without protest other than a few grunts and growls as they were being pushed around by the Marines.

And so, clearing room after room, the Marines found more and more Imperials or civilian staff members; there wasn't much resistance coming from them.

Capturing this fort was almost too easy.

Flamedramon's squad halted in front of the last door that was unchecked. Stacked up next the door, one Marine behind another.

Flamedramon lifted his right fist above his rifle and tapped his head three times, Guilmon came up the line of Marines and stood in front of the double doors and looked at his squad leader. The blue digimon gave a nod, Guilmon breathed in and kicked the doors open. The two doors slammed inward and against the stone wall with force.

The Marines rushed in, their weapons aimed directly at the digimon who were present in the large area. It was the throne room. At the end of the room, facing the humans, was a Flaremon, sitting on the throne with a white BishopChessmon standing to his right and a Bastemon cowering to his left, holding onto his strong arm.

Lined up on both sides were a single row of Commandramon, their rifles were on the floor. The lion digimon seemed unfaze by the Marines' rough entry. He merely sighed and lifted his arms up.

"Do not open fire, humans, we surrender." He demanded formally.

At first confused, the Marines hesitantly detained the soldiers first while Flamedramon stepped up to the Imperial officer and his second-in-command.

"Colonel Flaremon of the 4th Legion and duke of Burgundy," He formally introduced himself, "This is Major BishopChessmon 555, my loyal second-in-command."

"At your service." The chess piece digimon greeted with a courteous nod.

"And this is my wife, Bastemon," The humanoid feline shyly bowed down, "She has no affliliation with the Imperium, I beg you to spare her."

"Sergeant Flamedramon, and I'm afraid you'll have to speak with my CO, but I'll see what I can do, sir."

"Sergeant!" Called out Corporal Haggins, his 2IC, "All troops are out of the throne room."

"After you Colonel, Major and ma'am."

As promised, the Marines kept their distance from the trio, simply guiding them along the way while others were intimidated by Flaremon's presence.

Once back on the front entrance hall, Raymond greeted the trio of Imperials formally and with respect.

"Captain Raymond, Company Commander of Alpha Company."

"Ah yes, you're the human that's among the Elite's hit list." Flaremon commented with a grin.

"Flattering..." Dukeman whispered humoursly.

"And you must be the one responsible for... this." Raymond mentioned to the Imperial troops that are being escorted outside.

"Affirmative, captain. I have issued a cease fire order but most of my subordinates were stubborn and would rather fight to the bitter end."

"Guess that explains some of their uncoordinations. But why consider surrendering, you could've easily killed us inside the fort, a perfect kill box." Dukeman raised an eyebrow at the statement while Flamedramon gulped nervously, not sure what was going on in Raymond's head.

"It is true but the Imperium isn't its former glorious self. I have seen your tactics and I, among few others, wanted to change our strategies but the Imperial High Command refused to listen to us and decided that by pure numerical superiority we will win this war."

"And burning your own villages, was that part of your plan?" Dukeman asked with a frown.

"No, but the High Command acted quickly before I could respond," Flaremon responded with a growl, "That was the final straw. The safety of my people is the highest priority, sadly my subordinates do not see it that way."

"Well, Colonel, if you would kindly, my men will escort you to the nearest FOB where you and your troops will be transported to camp Sparta." Flaremon hummed in approuval.

"And what about my wife?" He asked.

"Your wife?"

"Bastemon, captain." Flamedramon informed.

"I guess to a refugee camp near our base, I don't manage the civilians, you'll have to speak with the Royal Knights or my commanders." Raymond answered.

"Very well." Flaremon faced Bastemon, his companion and sweetheart, and gently took her hands with his, gazing into her eyes. "Stay safe, my love."

"You too, Flaremon-kun. Come back to me when you can." She declared passionately.

"I will." They shared a small kiss and parted ways, both escorted by Marines. BishopChessmon wordlessly followed his commander with loyalty and dignity, even admist defeat.

As they watch them go out the fort, Raymond coughed dryly, black droplets staining his glove. He quickly wiped the glove against his dirty combat shirt's sleeve and looked at Dukeman.

"I have a feeling we'll be facing insurgents after this war." He stated dreadfully.

"How so?" Asked his friend.

"The Imperium is starting to break apart, later, if we win this fight, they'll have imperial loyalist groups trying to reclaim control. It'll be Irak all over again."

"Can't fucking wait for that..." Dukeman commented with sarcasm.

 _"Warlord to Alpha Pack, how copy?"_

"Alpha Pack to Warlord, solid copy on traffic." Responded Raymond through his headset.

 _"Alpha Pack, be advised, our drones have spotted two infantry companies egressing to your position three klicks to the East. Over."_

"Roger that, Warlord, Alpha will hold position until tangos are eliminated. Out."

"Listen up, Marines!" Bellowed Dukeman, "Imperials are coming this way three klicks East from our position. Get to cover and prepare yourselves for a fight!"

"OORAH!" The Marines quickly regrouped with their platoon commanders, guiding each squad to their defensive position.

"Retreat?" Shouted Raymond with an eager smile.

"HELL!" The grunts shouted back with enthusiasm.

They were Marines and they were ready to fight.

* * *

 _September 25th 2019, Camp Sparta._

The room he was in was quite small and had minimum furnitures, two simple designed chairs and one metal table.

Earlier he has been served a cup of coffee by his request and since then, he waited patiently for his "visit".

Moments later, the door swung open, four human soldiers walked in, their eyes hidden behind their dark shades and their faces emotionless. They all stood rigidly on all four corners of the room, an assault rifle on their hands.

To his mild surprise, the fifth human to come in didn't wear any sort of military uniform. The man had more of a casual or civilian clothing on him. Held in his right hand was a notepad and a file.

The man took his seat in front of him, quietly placed the notepad and file on the table and took out a pen from his shirt's pocket. He opened the notepad, scribbled a few words and then gazed at the Flaremon.

"Leonard Wilkins, USFJ Delta Region Division." He greeted formally, his left hand extended to the digimon.

"Flaremon, former commander of 4th Legion and duke of Burgundy." Flaremon greeted back, gently grasping the man's hand and shook it.

"Now then, sir Flaremon, for today we will only limit ourselves to a couple of questions." The man explained as he reads through the files, "Do not worry, torture won't be involved... for now."

Flaremon let out a hearty laugh which caused some of the military police personels to jump in surprise, "I like your sense of humour, fitting for a cold man like you."

"That comes with the job." Wilkins muttered with his lips curled slightly upwards. "As per agreement, you will answer to our questions truthfully and sincerely." Flaremon nodded. "As a former high ranking officer to the Imperium's armed forces, what can you tell us about the Imperial High Command and the Emperor?"

Flaremon shifted slightly on his seat, his brows furrowed as he spoke up, "The High Command is made up of three Lord Generals each commanding a different branch of the Imperium's military. The Lord Generals are extremely powerful on their own but their confidence and ego have blinded them beyond reason."

"Gone mad with power?" Asked Wilkins as he continues to write down the information.

The digimon hummed, "Yes, something of the sort. The Honour Guard, under Lord General Tyrantkabuterimon's command, had recently gained more power, having more authority in the High Command than the Emperor. He is plunging Tōku Solis in corruption, violence and disorder."

"Then there is Lord General BlackSeraphimon, commanding the entire Imperial Armed forces, he was a brilliant digimon but his eagerness to expand the empire have left him devoid of reason, sticking with our outdated tactics against the human forces."

"Finally there is Lord General Tactimon, leading the Defense Force. They're responsible for the burnings and executions across the region."

"And the emperor has done nothing about these problems?" Wilkins asked with mild curiosity.

"The emperor is too caught up with his power that he doesn't realise the mess he plunged his empire into." Flaremon hissed, his hands curled into fists.

"Oh? And what do you mean by that?"

"The invasion across the digital gate, that was his lust for more ground, more power, more riches. He used to be a respected digimon but now he is hold up in his palaces. Despite numerous colossal mistakes he made, we all followed his orders without a question."

"Can you explain why the Royal Knights are unable to pinpoint his location or the fact there has been zero assassination attempts on him?" Inquired the human, now interested on the matter.

"He doesn't stay in one place. The Honour Guard move the emperor every week in numerous parts of the city. In addition to his private army, the Elite Corps, the secret police monitors the Imperial Senate 24/7. Any protests or disapproval from a member and they suddenly "disappear" " The digimon explained before he took a sip from his coffee cup.

"And how did he come to power?"

"Through brute force and perfect timing, of course. He managed to gather thousands of fanatical soldiers under his banner and pillaged the weakened continent prior his ruling." He let out a snarl, his anger was increasingly boiling.

"So why did you join him?"

"I was blinded by his promise of a prosporous empire and peaceful Digital World. But as time passes by, reality soon hits me like a Spinomon. Eversince you came to our world, more and more officers started to question the emperor, most were persecuted and executed by the Defense Guard."

Wilkins read through his notes after the interrogation. As per agreement, Flaremon had the permission to visit his wife during the day.

He got in the L-ATV, the driver started the engine and drove towards the base's headquarters. The three-story building came shortly into view. He got out of the vehicle and quickly went in the building. He made his way up to the Delta Region Division's office and swung the door open.

In the office were a couple of radio operators, SF personels and federal agents working tiredlessly on their task. The American agent strode at a quick pace towards his CO's office. He lightly knocked on the door. A gruff voice replied.

"Come in."

He got in and walked a few paces before halting in his tracks and gave a crisp salute. "First Lieutenant Leonard Wilkins, reporting from the interrogation!"

Sat behind his desk was Akita Harrison, the creator and head of the Delta Region Division, the IDDF's intelligence agency. The half-American half-Japanese man looked up from his paperwork. He was in his fifties but seemed much older due to his white hair and constant frown.

He saluted the yound man and reached his hand out, demanding for the Wilkins's report.

"Anything interesting?"

"Yes, sir. We've got the identities of the Imperial High Command, key weak spots and locations, supply routes, you name them...however the Emperor's identity remains unknown." He reported bluntly.

"Unknown? Even the VIP doesn't know him?" Harrison asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, sir. It is said that the emperor doesn't show his face anymore... well that is what the VIP told us."

"That won't cut it, Lieutenant. The Royal Knights are uncapable to find this digimon and we've been in this wild goose chase for two years now. There's got to be something out there that will help locate and identify our target."

The office fell silent for a moment. Harrison had his hand pressed against his forehead, suppressing a light headache before letting out a sigh.

"And Hypnos can't do jack shit about this..." He muttered under his breath. He looked back at the American agent, "Interrogate him later in the afternoon, I want coherent information, concrete intels, anything that can help us defeat the Imperium. Press him." He commanded sternly.

"Will do, sir!" Wilkins replied dutifully with a salute.

The man spun on his heels and got out of the office.

 _"Two years..._ " Harrison thought bitterly, _"Two years and still fucking nothing..."_

"This is going to be a long war..."

* * *

 _October 4th 2019, Classified location, Operation "Phantom Fury"._

The night was peaceful.

The moon shone down on the digital plains. The wind breezed softly on the countryside. Laid in ruins in the middle of the vast expanse of the continent's landscape was a keep. Long abandonned, a remnant of a forgotten time. Barely standing, its roof gone and moss growing on its stone walls, the keep was simply a landmark for wanderers, merchants and travellers.

However for the last three days, it had serve another purpose.

At the tallest peak, two shadows slowly crept up to the keep's balcony. The two silhouettes quietly lied on their stomachs, setting up their equipment on the old wooden planks. One of them took out a sniper rifle while the other took out a large rectangular, olive green, object with a tripod.

"Saber 2 up." Whispered the sniper onto his headset.

 _"Copy. Sending the Eagle, ETA five mikes."_

After adjusting the object, the operator pressed a button and peered into it. To the naked eye, the object seemed to be completely useless, doing absolutely nothing, however it is actually projecting an infrared laser beam, making it undetectable. Perfect for a quick aerial drone strike.

A kilometer away from them was a lone Imperial camp, managed by a platoon of reserve troopers. Unaware to the Imperium, dozens of their combat outposts had been targeted by numerous special forces units scattered across their secondary defensive line.

The base was simple by design: a couple of barracks, a mess hall, a storage building, an armoury, a command post and four guard towers. Chain-link fence and sandbags surrounded the small camp. These camps acted as forward combat outposts, able to contact the main combat bases that surrounded the capital city in short notice. However they were poorly managed and maintained, recently due to a cut in fundings and poor management from the Imperial High Command.

Without these, the Imperium will never know when or how the enemy will strike. These were the eyes and ears of the Secondary Defensive Line.

"I have eyes locked on target location." The operator whispered to the sniper.

"Saber 2 to Sorcerer, we have a lock-on target location. Over." The sniper reported to the drone operators.

 _"Affirmative, laser spotted, Eagle's sending the package."_

 _"Dropping...Now."_

As if on command, a bright flash of orange suddenly appeared in the outpost shortly followed by a thick plume of smoke and dust. A powerful shockwave swept across the landscape, shooting out strong winds that could be felt farther away from the epicenter.

Then the sound came, a resounding, earth shattering, 'boom' shook the land. The keep the SFG operators were in trembled lightly, caused by the sound and shockwave.

The camp was annihilated, a "small" mushroom cloud lingered upon the devastated outpost, leaving no survivors.

Across the countryside, every outpost ended with the same result: a pile of debris and destruction, struck by an unseen aggressor. Some villages had been awoken in fright by the powerful explosions.

This was a message, war was now at their doorstep.

 _"Good kill, Sorcerer. Saber 2, egress back to Echo-Zone Charlie."_ Command ordered bluntly.

"Copy that, Predator, Saber 2's egressing to Echo-Zone Charlie." Announced the spotter operator while the sniper quickly pack up their gear.

In short notice, the two special forces operators were gone in the shades, silent and swift.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Happy _(early)_ Halloween! Et Joyeuse _(also early/aussi tôt)_ fête de la Toussaint! _(Even though I don't celebrate the latter... but hey, free holiday!)._ That's all I have to say really... Cheers! :)**


	33. Chapter 32

Chapter 32:

Castle Rush

 _October 5th 2019, Apollomon Valley._

A series of thunderous 'whumps' shook the earth. The ground erupted and shot up plumes of smoke, dirt and blood. Battle cries and gunfire rang across the battlefield.

Tanks from the U.S Marine Corps lined up on an elevated ground, pounding enemy forces. Armoured Personel Carriers drove forward, spewing out machine gun fire at hostile foot soldiers. The Marine Corps' air force reigned supreme in the sky, spitting lethal doses of hot lead and dropping bombs.

Standing in the middle of the hectic battle was Fort Mars, an Imperial citadel to protect the Imperium's home ground. Two thousand strong legionaires hold their ground while being completely surrounded by human-digimon forces.

Soaring through the sky was a small task force from the Royal Knights' Strike Force. At the lead of the detachment was Dukemon, casually sitting on Grani's back. The crimson and white knight peered down on the battlefield, observing the humans' progress.

"These Marines sure do know how to punch through enemy line." Commented Dukemon, returning his gaze back at the enemy fortress.

"Does that bother you, perhaps?" His loyal friend Grani questioned stoically.

Dukemon grabbed his holy shield and holy lance, standing up with a shrug, "Nope, I just like their play style, fits their whole "aggressive force" doctrine."

The robotic red bird chuckled, "They're called Devil Dogs for a reason."

The Royal Knight hummed in agreement, "You should've seen them during the beach landings. Now that was impressive!"

"I bet..."

Dukemon pressed up his left index against the side of his helmet, activating the built-in radio communication system.

"We're approaching the fort, we'll dive in the main courtyard and secure the gatehouse. Squad Alpha, you'll be with me in holding the courtyard while Squad Beta will take the gatehouse. Let's open the path for our Marine friends."

 _"Alpha copies!"_ Yelled a Master Sergeant RizeGreymon.

 _"Beta copies!"_ Affirmed a Sergeant-Chief Imperialdramon: Dragon Mode.

"Let's get to work, Grani!" The artificial lifeform nodded firmly and dove downwards.

Dukemon braced and steadied himself on Grani's back thanks to his magnetic boots. He lifted his Aegis shield, deflecting incoming enemy rounds while preparing to launch an attack, the golden triangles around his shield started to glow one by one.

"Final Elysion!" He shouted, the Aegis shot out a powerful holy beam, punching through enemy defenses.

The holy knight jumped off Grani's back and landed in the middle of the large courtyard with a small grunt.

Warm smoke lingered around him as Imperial soldiers were disoriented from the devastating attack. He stood back up, examinating his surroundings coldly, his crimson cape flowed hazily behind him.

Quickly he was the center of attention of numerous enemy troops, some stared at him in awe or fear while others eyed him with hatred.

"Don't just focking gawk at him! Attack!" Shouted a furious MetalGreymon, charging his weapon.

On command, dozens of legionaires opened fire or charged at him, fully intent on deleting the threat. A GeoGreymon charges head-on towards the Royal Knight, flanked by two Musyamon. Acting on his feet, he threw his shield at the charging dinosaur, the flying disk's force crushed the Greymon's head carapace and bounced off to the first demon samurai.

At the same time, Dukemon dodged the second samurai's upward slash. The Gram pierced the samurai's armour plates and shot a holy beam, destroying his digicore.

Dukemon spun around and crouched down, his shield flying back into his left hand in time to protect him from bullets while he charges up his attack.

"Royal Saber!"

The powerful beam slammed onto the dazed GeoGreymon but the dino was not defeated yet. A Crescemon appeared behind him, her Nova Luna ready to strike horizontally.

GeoGreymon was pissed and ready to ram into him, the other Musyamon was up and charged furiously, the Crescemon is about to cleave his head off and he is surrounded by multiple enemy soldiers firing on him.

 _"Where are the others?"_ He thought bitterly.

He sprung into action. He lifted the Aegis behind him, the massive shield covering his back, he shot his Gram towards the tall dino digimon. He fired a beam from the Gram, the holy projectile burned through GeoGreymon's naturally tough scales.

He rolled to his right, barely avoiding the samurai's sword thrust, the Crescemon cut out a piece of his flowing red cape.

He immediately put the Aegis in front of him, the shield already charged up. He smirked behind his helmet; two targets, one shot.

"Final Elysion!"

The holy fire slammed against the two digimon, engulfing the demon samurai and killing him while Crescemon was thrown away, knocked out.

A loud roar filled his ears, an intimidating shadow towered over his crouched body. GeoGreymon had managed to flank him without the latter noticing it. The subspecie Greymon had his mouth open, razor sharp teeth ready to chomp him in half.

 _"Shit..."_ Was his last thought.

"Rising Destroyer!"

A powerful round smashed though GeoGreymon's scales and flesh, tearing through the muscles and crushing bones. Blood showered on Dukemon as the digimon roared in agony before dropping lifelessly on the ground with a loud thud.

Dukemon sighed in relief and perked his head up, facing RizeGreymon who had a wide grin on his face.

"Took your sweet time, Rize."

"Aah, you seemed fine, sire, you don't need my babysitting." RizeGreymon chuckled.

"Admit it, you like dynamic entries." The Royal Knight pointed out playfully.

"Of course!" The cyborg digimon replied without shame, "They make me look badass."

Their friendly chat was cut short when a bullet grazed the Master Sergeant's helmet. RizeGreymon growled furiously and turned to his squad.

"Light 'em up, troops!"

"HAI!" They yelled in reply and charged into the fray.

Dukemon joined them, his eyes focused on the MetalGreymon leading the cohort of Imperial soldiers.

In the courtyard, Strike Forces and Imperial Forces clashed, exchaging deadly blows and strikes.

Meanwhile the Marines halted their advance, suppressing enemy troops taking cover in the keeps and behind the battlements. The infantry dismounted the armoured vehicles to add further volume of fire, overwhelming Imperial Forces with barrages of shells and volleys of lead.

Disembarking the LAV-C2, Captain Raymond, Gunnery-Sergeant Dukeman and First Lieutenant Sullivan walked cautiously behind the wall of Marines and armoured vehicles on stand-by.

Raymond took a glance at his wristwatch. They were five minutes early from schedule. He examined the battlefield around him. The tanks have shifted their focus on the incoming enemy cavalry unit, just as planned, they were ordered to stall the enemy reinforcements with Charlie company until Alpha and Bravo company can push in the fortress.

But now they are exposed to enemy fire with no solid cover for five whole minutes.

"The Strike Force better get that gate open." His XO commented, "We're sitting ducks here."

"I can see that, First Lieutenant..." Raymond replied in a low voice, "For now, we'll just have to hold our ground and get our asses low."

"Not like we had any choice to begin with." Dukeman added dreadfully.

They were about to make their way back into the LAV when suddenly Sullivan let a surprised grunt. He felt a force punching through his chest, crushing his ribcage and lungs. A pained gasp escaped his mouth as he hits the ground hard, barely breathing.

Both Raymond and Dukeman ducked on the grass and crawled to him.

His ears rung painfully but slowly his breathing came back, along with an intense pain on his chest. He saw Raymond's mouth moving but no words came out for awhile.

"ARE YOU ALRIGHT, SULLIVAN?" The executive officer in question meekly nodded, earning a laugh from the Captain. "Jesus Christ, you're one tough fucker."

On Sullivan's plate carrier was a fist size hole just near his heart. The hole was still smoking but the round didn't punch through the slab of kevlar. Dukeman helped him get on his feet, making the XO wheeze in pain.

"Shit..." Sullivan muttered, "I think I took your bullet, skipper." A tired smile decorated his face.

Raymond chuckled and gave a small pat on the lieutenant's helmet, "I'll buy you a beer later in the day."

"Gate's open, Captain!" Yelled a Lance Corporal.

The company commander simply gave a nod to Dukeman. "Alright, Marines! Get in there and give them HELL!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.

"OORAH!" They shouted back, their voices resonated clearly across the battlefield, making a certain white knight smirk behind his helmet.

* * *

The intense close quarters battle had diminished since their arrival, Squad Alpha had manage to push out the Imperial forces of the courtyard and were in the process of controlling the area. As for Squad Beta, they had already begun providing suppressive fire for the Marines to come.

"Master Sergeant!" He called out, catching the cyborg digimon's attention, "Secure the courtyard and stand-by to move out!" RizeGreymon gave him a firm nod.

A bullet suddenly struck Dukemon's right shoulder plate, a high pitched 'ping' resonated from the tiny piece of lead hitting Chrome Digizoid. The Royal Knight instinctively swirled to the side and brought his shield up front, bracing himself as more rounds started to pound his solid cover.

 _"Can't I have a break for ONCE?!"_ He thought irritatedly.

Risking a quick glance to the side of his Aegis shield, he spotted a group of Assaultmon, a Knightmon and a MetalGarurumon. Acting on his feet, Dukemon charges up his Gram lance, sparks of electricity ran through weapon, the very tip began to glow a faint blue hue. His battered red cape fluttered to an unseen wind; the Hazard knight narrowed his golden eyes, determined to win the fight.

"Duke Charge!" In a split second, the knight flew straight toward the squad of machine gun wielding digimon.

The Gram lifted, he aimed the tip for the armoured clad Knightmon - taking out his greatsword and shield – and mentally braced himself for the incoming impact.

Caught in distress, the Assaultmon spreaded out, leaving an ample space for the charging knight and their leader. Knightmon lifted his greatsword to the side, ready to slash the Royal Knight in half. But he was too slow.

The lance punched through the thick layers of Chrome Digizoid armour and tough flesh before letting out a painful electrical discharge. The stunned knight was sent flying across the courtyard, his back met the cyborg canine's muzzle.

A grunt escaped Dukemon's mouth, the force of the impact shot a stinging pain on his arm. However he didn't have the time to complain about pain.

He launch a Royal Saber attack to a tight group of Assaultmon, taking out half of the original group. The others, now out of their stunned phase, spat out volleys of rapid fire lead, prompting Dukemon to use his shield and stay on the defensive.

"Positron Laser!"

A large, bright energy beam swallowed the squad of Assaultmon, destroying them with one devastating shot. The shockwave from the blast lightly pushed Dukemon back. He glanced up from his shield, hesitant at first before seeing a familiar face, grinning at him.

"Second time we saved your ass, sir!" Imperialdramon: Dragon Mode pointed out with a smug, toothy grin.

"Yeah, yeah," Dukemon began, waving his right hand defensively, "I get it, Peri, I'll get you guys something after this."

"The Marines are here, sir." The ancient dragon reported dutifully, his face returning back to a neutral frown.

Light footsteps and shouts caught their attention. Behind the dragon, Dukemon could see Marines starting to flood in the courtyard, leaders were barking orders, the humans spreading out to cover as much ground as possible.

"Get your troops ready, Chief, we're taking the keep."

"Hai!" The dragon nodded and flew off to gather his squad.

A platoon of Marines approached Dukemon, the commander gave a formal salute to the white knight.

"Second Lieutenant Sparks, First platoon reporting for duty!" He announced loudly, his men halted behind him with high discipline.

"Stay behind us and watch our backs, lieutenant. It won't be an easy fight once we'll reach the keep." Dukemon told him, squad Beta was already ahead of him.

"Don't you worry, sir, we're always ready for a fight," Sparks then faced his platoon, "Retreat?"

"HELL!" They shouted back, their faces showed determination and eagerness.

Dukemon let a small grin slip on his face, admiring the humans' courage and commitment. The Royal Knight ordered squad Beta to move out, the Marines following behind them as they went on the stone road to the castle's keep.

Along the way, the combined detachment of Marines and Strike Forces were met with little resistance, scattered groups of legionaires were quickly taken down by the combined firepower.

Imperialdramon's attacks pounded the imperial barricades in front of the keep. Debris and digimon were flung out of cover, few of the legionaires would survive the initial bombardment before they were gunned down by the Marines.

"Stack up!" Sparks commanded.

The Marines marched up the steps and gathered into tight clusters of angry Jarheads. Imperialdramon: Dragon Mode bashed the wooden doors in with his head, the door flew in and turned into two deadly projectiles, smashing a couple of enemy troopers.

Squad Beta and Dukemon charged in first, meeting the dazed imperials in hand-to-hand combat. The Marines then rushed in, overwhelming the enemy with volleys of hot lead and grenades.

"Hostiles at the end of hall!" Sparks warned before ducking his head, bullets started to fly pass him.

He dashed behind a stone column and quickly reloaded his carbine. He took a M67 frag grenade and pulled the pin.

" _One thousand one, two thousand two, three thousand three."_ He spun out of cover and threw the handgrenade at the end of hall.

The explosive hurled just over the Strike Forces and imperials and landed just beside the staircase, where a cluster of Commandramon stood still without noticing it. Then one saw it a second too late.

Screams of pain echoed in the loud hall, dust from the ceiling fell over them. Sparks pointed at one Sergeant then swiftly pointed one end of the hall, he repeated the same gesture at sergeant Flamedramon and pointed at the other end of the hall.

Surround them.

On command, the Marines circled the imperials, giving them no room to escape. Minutes later, the Strike Forces and their allies stood victorious with minimal casualties.

Bullet holes, burn marks and blood redecorated the keep's entrance hall. The Strike Forces panted heavily, their bodies beaten and exhausted. Dukemon's armour was bent in few places and lost its initial shine, now covered in mess and taint.

"Secure the ground floor, Chief, I'll go with the Marines to secure the upper levels." The Royal Knight instructed.

"As you wish, sir." The Sergeant-Chief replied.

* * *

"Corpsman! Corpsman!" Raymond shouted over the screams of a wounded Marine, applying a tourniquet over the gaping hole on the man's thigh.

A corpsman and another Marine ran up to them. The combat medic inspected the bandage applied by Raymond and gave a thumbs up. Together the captain and the corpsman pulled the wounded to his feet, keeping their heads low as incoming projectiles flew pass them.

The lance corporal groaned through the pain as he was being lifted up, his wound burning his thigh.

"Motherfucker!" He cussed angrily to suppress further pain.

Carrying him to nearby cover, something snapped near them; Raymond felt suddenly more weight pulling him and the Marine to the ground.

"Fuck!" He yelled as they hit the ground, the wounded screaming louder as more pain shot through his leg.

"AAAH, SON OF A BITCH!"

Raymond looked over the Marine, seeing the lifeless body of the corpsman, two holes smoked behind his body armour. Without a moment to spare, Raymond dragged the Marine the last few meters behind cover.

"Stay here, Marine! Don't you dare die on me!"

"I can still fight, captain!" The man replied through gritting teeth. Raymond smirked and gave him a pat on the helmet.

"Oorah, Marine. See you later."

The captain got to his feet and ran back to the fray. Seconds of lucky misses later, he slid his way behind Dukeman, bumping against the man to a halt.

"Where the fuck were you?" The gunnery sergeant asked with a scowl.

"Oh you know, to places." Raymond shot back sarcastically. He pulled out the spent mag and dumped it in the dump pouch on his side. "How's second platoon doing?"

"They've just captured the chapel. The Strike Forces should be able to push the imperial to the crossroads. Key word being "should"!" Dukeman added angrily.

"Late again?"

"As per usual, sir."

Peeking over his cover, Raymond shot a couple of rounds before he had to duck behind it again. Various projectiles whistled barely over his head. Dukeman threw out a frag grenade in the hopes of killing some legionaires.

The ground trembled after an enemy shell landed near them, throwing around three Marines off the ground, one of them hit the solid cobblestone street next to Dukeman, wheezing in pain.

The senior NCO grabbed the man and pulled him behind cover. As he performed first aid on the Marine, Raymond quickly got on his radio, contacting a nearby tank squadron.

"Dragon 4, this is-" A familiar hot sensation caught up in his throat.

He coughed dryly, black droplets stained his dirtied combat trousers. He cleared his throat and resumed to the call, "This is Alpha Pack, requesting armour support in Fubar Street, we've got foot mobiles and artillery units two hundred meters away from our position. I need you to push them to Juliet Square and waste those motherfuckers! How copy? Over."

 _"Dragon 4 copies, Alpha Pack. We're Oscar-Mike to Fubar Street. Hang tight, captain. Over."_ Announced the squadron leader.

"Tanks are coming!" He informed Dukeman to his right ear. He replied with a thumbs up and resumed his attention on the wounded Marine.

A fireteam joined them, crouching down behind their cover. Raymond however instantly recognised them.

"Wait... Aren't you suppose to be with First platoon?"

"Yes, sir!" Answered the team leader, "But we got lost along the way and found ourselves here, sir!" He explained with a blush of embarrassment.

Raymond groaned in exasperation before facing the Corporal, "You're under my command now, start suppressing on those fuckers and you three," He said while randomly pointing at three Marines, "Help the Gunney get this Marine back to safety."

The three Marines nodded and executed his orders. Raymond and the small fireteam provided cover fire as the four of them carried the wounded back to the vehicles.

"Hold the line, Marines! Do not let them get pass us!"

"OORAH!" The fireteam replied beside him.

The imperials were no match against human modern weaponry. The barrage of bullets stalled their advance, legionaires were quickly neutralized, wounded and crawling back to their comrades.

Barks from the AR-15s and light machine guns, such as the venerated M240B and M249 SAWs – along their smaller cousin, the M27 IAR – rang in Raymond's ears, even through his ear protections. His heartbeat drummed in his mind, the adrenaline of combat shooting through his body, slightly enhancing his reflexes.

Slowly, his men were starting to regroup forward. Providing heavy fire support were the APCs, spitting out fifty caliber rounds at the enemy, and the mortar teams providing close artillery support.

But they needed the extra punch to penetrate the enemy line. And speak of the devil, they've arrived.

Multiple ear shattering 'claps' shook the ground. High speeding shells flew overhead the Marines and hit their marks. Stone and digimon were thrown upwards, screams from the dying and wounded was the result of the first devastating volley.

The Marines cheered in delight at the sight of three M1A3 Abrams tanks, their distinct slat armour, covering the sides and rear, and tan camo paint was a sight for sore eyes. And the bane for the legionaires.

 _"Dragon 4, reporting for duty, captain. I hope we didn't take too long to miss the fun."_ Stated a joyful tank commander.

"Right on time, as per usual, Dragon 4." Replied Raymond with a smile.

 _"Oorah; we'll clean the mess if you don't mind us, sir. Stay clear of the street."_

"Roger that," He tuned out of the communication, "Off the street! Make way for the tanks!" He bellowed the order.

"Off the street!"

"Let's go! Move it!"

"Let them have it, Marines!"

Bells rang deafeningly in his ears after the second volley of tank shells. The high explosive ammunations were destroying the enemy line; the Marines now had a better opportunity to push back the enemy.

* * *

"Contact front!"

"Get down!"

A shot hit his shoulder, Guilmon let out a surprised cry as he fell on the ground. He felt himself being dragged away by two helping hands.

"Ah damn it! That burns!" He growled once they got him behind cover.

"You okay there, buddy?" Flamedramon asked concernly across the hallway, barely hiding behind a wooden column.

"Yeah," He hesitantly replied. He ran a claw on his shoulder and saw no blood appearing on the digit, "Didn't get through my scales! But holy crap does it burn..." He muttered that last part under his breath.

Another shout caught his attention. One of the Marines that got him to safety had been shot, his knee bled profusely, staining his trousers in a deep crimson colour. Guilmon crawled to him and perfomed first aid.

He searched through his first aid kit, taking out a roll of bandage, under heavy enemy fire. The Marine held onto his bleeding knee, spitting more profanities with grunts of pain. The red digimon gently applied the bandage on the wound and rolled it into several thick layers to stop the bleeding.

He then took out a tourniquet, placed through the man's foot and went just above the wound. He pulled one string, the tight bandage now tied around the limb. With the metal lever, he spun it around until it tied strong enough around the thigh to stop the flow of blood.

Finally, he took out a syringe of morphine, his last one. Carefully, he injected the small and delicate painkiller into a vein through the man's chest. The effects were immediate; the man visibly relaxed as he was being relieved from the intense pain.

"Sergeant!" He called Flamedramon, "I need to get this Marine out of here!"

"Then go! I'll cover you!" Flamedramon replied and leaned out of cover, shooting back at the enemy.

"Come on, let's get you out of here." Guilmon said as he carried the wounded Marine.

He huffed out, feeling the weight of a fully grown man in full combat gear. But in an instant, he sprung out of cover and ran back to the second floor, barely avoiding enemy gunfire.

Once on the second floor, he was about to make his way to the ground floor until he met Dukemon on the way, the white knight was about to join Guilmon's platoon in the fight. The Royal Knight noticed the man on Guilmon's shoulder and offered to help.

"Need help with him?" Guilmon inwardly praised for his intervention.

"Yeah, I need you to get him back to the main courtyard, there should be corpsmen that could fix him up." He informed after placing the Marine on the knight's arms.

The Marine chuckled feverishly, "Ah shit, I'm being saved by a knight in shining armour. I do not want to be the damsel in distress."

"Don't worry, you're too messed up for that part." Dukemon said playfully, a mischievious smirked formed behind his helmet.

The Marine gave him a deadpan stare and gave him the middle finger, "Hey, fuck you, man." Which prompted both the knight and Guilmon to laugh.

"I'll see you later, dude." Guilmon said while fist bumping the Marine.

"You too, bro. Don't you dare lose the fight while I'm gone." He joked.

"We won't."

With the exchange done, Dukemon nodded to Guilmon and carried the wounded Marine out of the keep.

The red dinosaur spun on his heels and ran back up the staircase. He sped up his pace when he heard that the firefight was intensefying. Reaching the floor, he immediately dove on the ground, merely missing a laser bolt. The distinct roars of the M249 SAWs filled his ears. Taking cover on one side of the hallway, he peeked out to figure out what was going on.

Hostile troops were gaining more numbers and were advanving on their position, pressing the Marines to fall back. But so far the platoon is holding their ground.

A familiar blue digimon had his back pressed against his cover, he could hear the enemy soldiers just a couple meters away. He dumped his spent magazine out and took out his last one; he had to make each shot count. He closed his eyes and breathe slowly, calming his nerves, he chugged the fresh mag in the M16A4's lower receiver and racked the charging handle.

Imperial legionaires were now just ten meters away from him and somehow they haven't notice him yet.

Flamedramon dropped to a one knee stance and leaned right, exposing his rifle and head to the enemy. Angry flashes successively shot out of the rifle's barrel, the three-round burst hit the first legionaire at center mass, the digimon cried out in pain as blood spewed out of their body.

The second burst hit the other from the upper chest to the throat. The second digimon fell on the ground, desperately gasping for air while they were choking on their own blood, which now formed a pool over the stone floor.

Flamedramon fired a third burst, hitting another legionaire to the thigh before his head forcefully jerked backwards, sparks and blood shot out at the side of his head before falling on the ground.

"Flamedramon!" Guilmon shouted with worry.

The sergeant was still moving, clasping one hand on his left cheek while the other tried to get to his first aid kit.

"Pyro Sphere!" Guilmon launched his attack at the nearby group of hostile troops, setting two ablaze while others were being flung back by the blast.

The saurian digimon moved out of cover to reach closer to his injured friend. Enemy fire pinned him down just a dozen meters away from Flamedramon. The platoon was trying to suppress the enemy with the intention of retrieve one of their own now caught in the crossfire.

Guilmon breathed heavily, sweat pouring out of his body, making his plate carrier stick uncomfortably against his grimy scales. He felt the heat of incoming projectiles flying near him, they were pinning him down to this position.

"Hang in there, Flamedramon! I'll get you out of here!" He reassured to his friend and at the same time to himself. Flamedramon simply gave thumbs up in response before applying the bandage on his cheek.

"Cover fire, damn it!" He heard lieutenant Sparks commanding frustratingly. "Let them eat lead!"

The firefight was slowly turning tide to the Marines, now regrouped and determined to help their Marine in need.

A faint metallic 'thud' caught Guilmon's attention. He faced to the direction of the sound and his eyes widened in shock.

"GRENADE!"

Flamedramon instinctively rolled to the side, exposing his back to the grenade while Guilmon ducked behind his cover, making himself as small of a target as possible.

He felt the intense heat of the blast, the shockwave pushing him and an intense pain on his left shoulder blade, as if something injected molten metal in him. He gritted his teeth to fight the intense pain and sprung out of cover, making a mad dash for his friend.

With the temporary visual obstruction, he slid his way to Flamedramon, lying on his side and not moving. Guilmon glanced at Flamedramon's back, several holes could be seen on the plate carrier and the camelbak, the water poured out while vapour trailed out of the holes. His back was severely damaged by the fragmentations, evident by the rivers of blood pouring out of the holes.

Guilmon hunched over him, placing his ear near his muzzle. He was still breathing. Sighing in relief, Guilmon lifted the blue dramon on his shoulders and stood up. He sprinted back to his platoon, the enemy spotted his shape behind the smoke cloud and began to open fire, the Marines fired back the second after.

He ran the whole way down to the ground floor and out of the keep where he was met with Marines from Bravo company. A corpsman ran up to him and told him to lie Flamedramon down on the ground. He did so without a question.

While the combat medic inspected Flamedramon's back, Guilmon stared at his face, a solemn and worried look bored his face. A large part of the digimon's mask broke to pieces, revealing his left eye and cheek. A deep gash ran from his cheekbone to right below his eye.

He looked around his first aid kit, finding only a piece of cloth, given to him by a civilian weeks ago. It was an orange scarf with the digimon symbol of Courage, it was a gift of gratitude from an Agumon.

He stared at the piece of cloth in comtemplation. He tore it in half, a little bit regretting the action but it was necessary to help his friend. After placing the other half back in the first aid kit, he wiped some of the blood away with it.

"We'll take it from here, Lance Corporal," Announced one of the corpsmen, "Go join your platoon."

Silently, Guilmon nodded and put the bloody cloth in Flamedramon's empty ammo pouch. "Get well, I'll see you soon." He whispered before the Marines carried him back to friendly line.

He sighed sadly and went back in the keep, joining his platoon and the Marines of Bravo company.

* * *

The imperials were being grouped up at the square in front of the chapel. Marines standing around them, keeping a watchful eye on the prisonners. APCs lined up, some arrived while others droved out of the square, filled with wounded and bodybags.

Some squads were sent in different parts of the castle on patrol, makign sure no imperials were hiding in the shadows.

The men were exhausted, another crushing defeat for the Imperium but a costly victory for the Marines. They were beaten, injured and dirty; and for some, hungry.

Raymond drank half of the small water bottle in one go before dumping the rest on his head, sighing in delight at the refreshing fountain on his head, cooling his mind off. Sitting on the ground beside him was Dukeman, enjoying his last cigarette, from his last pack of smokes.

"Still can't believe you didn't have smokes on you." He commented bitterly after puffing out a whiff of nicotine.

"But I don't smoke." Raymond responded incredously.

"I know that, but you should also know that ninety percent of your men smoke, including _me_." Dukeman pointed at himself for emphasis, "At least buy some for me."

"Maybe you shouldn't smoke so often." He shot back with a small grin.

"Hey, I don't smoke oftenly." Dukeman retorted, "It took me a whole month to finish the other pack." He said as a matter-of-fact.

"And now it took two weeks to finish that one."

"... you're a horrible friend..." The Gunnery-Sergeant childishly said, crossing his arms while still having the cigarette in his mouth.

"I'm not your friend, I'm your commanding officer." Raymond chuckled and bumped the senior NCO's helmet with his knuckles.

Just as Dukeman was about to respond, Dukemon landed in front of him. The two humans stopped their playful bickering and stood straightly, saluting the knight formally.

The Royal Knight quickly returned the salute and sighed heavily. It was clear in his eyes that he too was tired. His armour was beaten, burn marks and blood dotted his armour. He was covered from head to toe in grime, ash, dirt and dried blood.

"How are you holding up, Royal Knight?" Raymond started with a simple question to break the tense silence.

"A bit beaten but still alive." Dukemon replied with a thumbs up and a weak chuckle, "Things got intense for awhile here, huh?" He glanced at a row of severely wounded Marines, their moans of pain made him visibly wince in guilt.

"This is the price of victory, I guess." Raymond sighed solemnly; it didn't feel like a victory in his guts.

"I'd really hate to see defeat then," Dukemon stated dreadfully.

A cyborg digimon hovered just behind the Royal Knight. Rizegreymon's had been damaged and cuts were evident on his dirty orange scales, stitches and bandages closed these wounds.

"How's the task force, Master Sergeant?"

"Exhausted, sir," He replied bitterly, "My squad has suffered two KIAs and three wounded while Squad Beta suffered four KIAs and two wounded."

A heavy headache was starting to take place in Dukemon's mind.

"How about the other task forces?" Raymond inquired to the cyborg digimon.

"A success, captain Raymond. Duftmon wants to send his thanks to you." Both humans had their eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Sir, our troops are ready to move out on your signal." The digimon informed to the crimson and white knight. Dukemon simply nodded as a response.

The winged digimon gave a formal salute and flew away to his squad. Dukemon remained in his spot, mindlessly staring at the destroyed street. He shook his head and laid his eyes on the two humans.

"You want us to take the prisonners?"

Raymond glanced at the large group of imperials and returned his gaze at Dukemon, "Nah, we'll take it from here. Go join up with the others." The Royal Knight nodded and flew toward his detachment silently.

"He seems a little bit... distant," Dukeman pointed out pensively.

Raymond hummed in agreement before he nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders, "I'm sure he'll be fine later in the day," He turned around and observed the square, "But right now, we have a base to build and maintain."

"Great." The company sergeant said ironically.

* * *

 _Unknown Location._

Rapid metallic footsteps echoed loudly across the hallway. A large, intimidating shadow strided along the royal magenta carpet. The Knightmon guards standing on both sides of the hallway stiffened at the individual's passing, feeling their anger creeping up their spine.

A furious growl escaped the digimon's mouth, speeding up their pace.

At the end of the hall stood a lone figure, their back facing the incoming digimon. A jet black cape covered most of their silhouette. Their head perked up a little bit at the sound of footsteps. They slightly turned to the side, revealing themselves.

The digimon was clad in black, samurai-like, plate armour with golden trimmings and red flame designs painted on the armour pieces. Under the armour, they wore a pristine white fabric. Around the waist was a thick crimson cloth, buckled by an emerald orb backed against a red belt. Underneath the thick fabric was a second cloth, covering the side and back of their legs. It was a long, regal blue and thinner piece of cloth.

The digimon had a kabuto – a sturdy and intimidating helmet and facemask – with two golden horns spruting on the sides and one forward. Two monochrome yellow orbs gazed at the incoming digimon.

"Lord General BlackSeraphimon, a pleasant surprise to have you here in the palace." Tactimon said neutrally.

"What's the meaning of this, Tactimon?" The Lord General of the Imperial Army asked increduously, "Why are you just standing there?"

"The Defense Guards do not want us to _intefere_ with the emperor's meditation session." He explained coldly.

"He's meditating?! Doesn't _he_ know that the whole Digiworld is right at our doorst-"

The large iron doors to the throne room opened up, a large insect-like digimon quietly exited the room and closed them back, a smug smile decorated their long insect face, showing rows of razor sharp teeth.

"Ah, I was expecting you two," The dark purple digimon began with a curt bow, "Do you need anything?"

"Now you listen here," BlackSeraphimon stepped forward angrily, "Tell the emperor that we need an emergency meeting now. The humans and the digimon coalition just broke through our last line of defense."

"And the Metal Empire will not be here to help us." Tactimon added with a hiss.

"Ah yes, the human threat that you've failed to crush." Tyrantkabuterimon remarked smugly.

"You better watch your tone, bug," The fallen angel warned menacingly, "While you had the emperor's dick up your ass, we spent the last three years defending our empire. So I suggest you listen to us and let us through, asap."

"This is a meeting of the highest priority, the future of the Imperium hangs on a dangerous strand." Tactimon informed diplomatically.

"That's rich coming from the digimon who burned down half of the region." Retorted the winged insect.

The Demon Man's hands curled to fists before he let them go, sighing before meeting his cold gaze with the bug's amused green eyes, "They were horrible acts, I admit, but desperate times call for desperate measures. And honestly, you're doing a shit job at protecting the city from corruption and violence," He leaned forward now face-to-face with an angered digimon, "And I also know how much you like your moonshine and crack, the ones that suppose to be banned from the Imperium." A glint of amusement shined in his eyes.

"That is why I had the Elite Corps tracking and taking them down," BlackSeraphimon crossed his arms smugly, "Ever wondered why the sales _just suddenly_ went down?"

"Let them in!" Boomed a powerful voice.

Startled by the voice, Tyrantkabuterimon instantly opened the doors and allowed the two other Lord Generals to walk in the throne.

The large room was heavily decorated with lavish long curtains hanging from the walls and columns, intricately decorated shields and weapons were hung on placeholders along the walls, relics of the old regime or trophies of past victories and conquers.

Luxurious chandeliers from the ceiling brightly lit up the room. A burgundy carpet laid across the room, from the doors to the throne itself. On both sides of the room was a single line of elite Ravmon bodyguards. Standing stoically beside the throne were two Pharaohmon, their lifeless red eyes staring at the two new visitors.

Sitting proudly on the throne was a large wolf humanoid digimon, entirely clad in gold Chrondigizoit armour. A marine blue cape draped down behind their back, the _Kiju Engetsutou_ – a master-crafted halberd with a long, sharp, monoedge crescent blade – held firmly by their right hand while the left hand was used as a support for their head to rest on.

A large crescent blade was built on both shoulder pads, giving the digimon a more menacing presence. A shimmering red orb was on the chestplate as well as on their armoured snout. Their long white mane hung out of the throne's armrest and laid loosely beside the throne.

Two fiery red orbs narrowed upon gazing at BlackSeraphimon and Tactimon. A low growl emanated from their throat, having heard the previous conversation thanks to their enhanced hearing.

BlackSeraphimon and Tactimon pounded their left fist against their digicore and knelt to one knee with their heads down in perfect synchronization.

"My Emperor!" They greeted formally.

The Emperor, a powerful CresGarurumon, stood up from his seat. His armoured feet echoed heavily at each footfall.

"Rise up." He commanded sternly, his eyes still glaring at two of his most trusted subordinates. "Well, I'm listening."

The two Lord Generals hesistated at first before Tactimon spoke up, courageously, "Your Highness, as you know, the enemy is right at our doorstep. We're outnumbered and outgunned from all sides, the Metal Empire have fully withdrawn all of their support and assets. The capital is the only beacon standing of the Imperium. I implore you to look at the matter more seriously so we can win this fight with your wisdom."

 _"I respect you, Tactimon, but now you're being a cocksucker."_ Thought furiously BlackSeraphimon, who remained silent for the whole time, slightly nervous around the Emperor.

CresGarurumon casually hummed, placing his left hand on his hip and shouldering his personal weapon, "It is true that our glorious empire is crumbling piece by piece, and I admire your will to fight again, but all of this could've been resolved if..."

With a swift and strong strike from his weapon's handle, Tactimon released a pained, muffled groan as he bent down on the floor while clutching his stomach, his whole body twitching at the intense pain. BlackSeraphimon winced behind his helmet, feeling sympathy for his fellow warrior and only friend.

"You bloody dickheads had done a better job at organizing your troops and tactics!" The emperor snarled furiously. He bent down and firmly grasped Tactimon's right arm, "On your feet, Lord General," He ordered authoritatively.

His glare now turned to BlackSeraphimon, "And how about you, Lord General BlackSeraphimon, hum? What do you have to discuss with me so _urgently_? Does it perhaps involve you wishing to suck a dick?"

The fallen angel unconsciously gulped at the last remark, feeling increasingly nervous with the emperor now standing face-to-face with him; if looks could kill, he will surely be dead by now.

"N-no, my E-Emperor... but I would like i-if you could send us more troops and equipment to the frontline. I can possibly lead a counter-attack and maybe retake some of our land." He suggested submissively.

""Possibly" and "maybe" are two words that I don't really appreciate, Lord General. It is not not the same as "will accomplish" or "easily win". Didn't I made you Lord General so you can lead hundreds of legions to victory?" CresGarurumon asked rhetorically, " _Maybe_ I've made a mistake in doing so, the same goes from freeing you from the Dark Area."

He took two steps back and gazed at all three Lord Generals, "Have all the generals and force commanders gathered in the war room at 1400 hours, am I CLEAR?"

"YES, MY EMPEROR!" They shouted back.

He pointed his muzzle at the doors, the Lord Generals quickly walked out of the throne room.

"BlackSeraphimon," He called out across the room, the fallen angel halted in his tracks, "One more insulting comment like that and I'll have you personally terminated, is that clear?"

Anger started to build up in BlackSeraphimon's gut, his fists tightening, "Yes, my Emperor..." He answered with a growl.

Once all three Lord Generals were out of the throne room, an eerie silence filled the large and spacious room.

Discreetly coming out of the shadows behind the emperor was a very strange digimon. The digimon had no humanoid features, it was a giant, fleshy and moist brain with two large, eyelidless, yellow orbs, a long and thin face, two skinless arms and multiple fleshy tentacles that acted as the body frame and legs. The tentacles wringled around in place, making disgusting gooey sounds as the digimon moved toward CresGarurumon.

He snarled in irritation, the pungent smell of decay and mucus assaulted his highly sensitive nostrils.

"What is it, Vademon?" He asked harshly, wanting the secretive scientist to be gone as soon as he came in the throne room.

"The Juggernaut is complete, my Emperor," The alien digimon reported with a formal and exaggerated bow, "I have taken the liberty, with the extra budget you've given to me, to create a second one. " Vademon informed proudly.

A sideway smirk graced the emperor's muzzle, "Always thinking ahead of your boss, huh?" He stated, turning to face the alien.

"As long as you allow me to continue my research... with the sufficient budget, of course." Vademon dramatically lifted his left hand and twirled it downwards, like a comedian saluting his adoring audience.

He slowly backed away and into the shadows where he came from, now gone from the visible eye.

CresGarurumon sadistically chuckled, sitting back down on his throne, his head resting on his left hand, his mind already scheming for the upcoming battle, the battle for the fate of his empire.

 _"This will be a glorious day!"_

* * *

 _October 8th 2019, Apollomon Valley._

"For the last time, Kurata, "Yuri on Ice!" is bad! It's lame, boring and _gay_."

"NANI?!" Gasped a Sergeant First Class Takeo Kurata in shock, "So what two guys might be in a relationship-"

"Might? Oh come on! They basically wanted them to kiss but are too scared to get some backlash from the public." First Lieutenant Itami cut in his friend's argument.

"Okay it is gay but that is not a reason why it sucks." Kurata retorted, "You're hating on gays now."

Itami slapped his face and grumbled under his breath, "It's not the display of homosexuality that bothers me, it's the fact that each episode is the same goddamn dance for each characters."

"Bullshit!"

While the two otakus of Third Recon team were arguing agitatedly in the Kawasaki CH-47J Chinook, Master Sergeant Shino Kuribayashi glared daggers at the two, her right eye twitching with boiling anger. These two had been going on and off arguing about anime and mangas during the whole flight, disturbing Kuribayashi's nap time.

She's currently sleep deprived after the intense combat operations the team had been through but now these two idiots are disturbing her beauty sleep.

Beside her, Master Sergeant Mari Kurokawa placed a hand on her friend's knee and gently pressed it.

Kuribayashi shifted her gaze to the combat medic. The younger, but much wiser, woman gave a small smile and thumbs up. The petite female soldier sighed and crossed her arms, her nerves slightly calmed down.

Sitting across her was Sergeant Major Tomita, the gentle giant of the team sat next to the young and energetic Kurata. The senior NCO chuckled and pointed a finger at Kurata, a mischiveous grin on his face. He then suddenly jabbed his elbow hard against the young man's ribcage, making him startle and jump in his tight seat.

Kurata let out a high-pitch, almost feminine, yelp that made the entire team in the aircraft laugh uncontrollably. And boy did it feel good for Kuribayashi to see the man suffer a little bit and humiliated by the team.

Well team may be small to describe her unit. Third Recon team is now at a platoon's strenght, thirty men and women, both veterans and rookies... well mostly rookies.

The Third Recon team has gone through some major changes, namely the change in the chain of command. Soichiro Kuwahara has finished his contract, now a retired veteran; it was now Tomita's turn to fill in his role. Which in her opinion, was a great decision coming from Itami for once.

She too was promoted to fill in an empty spot in the team, Tetsuya Nishina, killed in action and posthumously awarded with the Japanese Medal of Honor with Red Ribbon, for sacrificing his own life to save others.

Sadly another member of the Third Recon Team had lost their life, Sergeant Hiroyuki Azuma – whom already suffered a leg wound and chest pains since the siege at the Village of Smiles – was killed in action by plasma bolt to the heart, he died instantly.

With the increase of casualties in the war and of new recruits back on Earth, the Japanese government wanted to reinforce their troops as soon as possible. And so, Third Recon team increased in numbers, the new faces of the JSDF soldiers were now led by battle-hardened Japanese soldiers and saw more active roles in the frontlines since then.

This was truly Japan's first war after the Second World War. Who knew they'll have to face off against deadly creatures from another world?

 _"Thirty Seconds..."_ The JASDF pilot announced to the soldiers, _"Weather's clear and the current temperature is at twenty seven degrees celcius. Welcome to Fort Mars and I hope you enjoyed flying with the JASDF and until next time."_

The whole platoon laughed at the pleasant joke, even in a warzone, humour is the right medecine. As the men and women unbuckled their seats, Tomita stood up and placed his hands around his mouth, using them to amplify his voice.

"Grab your packs and weapon and stand out into three lines of ten and standy by for further orders! Hurry up if you don't want to be screwed over by me!"

The FNGs quickly took their combat and deployment packs, slung their weapon's strap over their shoulder and hurried outside the Chinook. For added pressure on the new soldiers, some of the veterans barked orders behind them.

Once the newly arrived platoon stood into three perfectly lined formation, the soldiers waited patiently for their platoon leader with their packs neatly placed on the ground, their weapon slung over their shoulder and against their chest, and their hands behind their backs, standing at straight as a ruler.

Itami casually walked ahead of the formation facing his troops. He took a quick glance behind him, spotting an American L-ATV coming towards them.

"Atten-tion!" Shouted Tomita, the soldiers shifted their stances instantly, their arms hung tightly against their sides, chest a bit puffed out and head slightly upwards.

The Sergeant Major gave a formal salute to the platoon leader, "First Lieutenant, all soldiers are present and ready for duty on your orders!"

Itami saluted back, as per military procedure, "Thank you, Sergeant Major." He then looked at his wristwatch and gazed back at his platoon, "At ease," He ordered and they executed as so, "Soldiers, from now on we will be working closely with the American Marines for we are now at the very tip of the frontline, at the doorstep of Tokū Solis, the heart of the Imperium. Fort Mars will be our new home for the next three weeks before we go to battle and end this war once and for all. We will be part of History and change the course of Humanity. The World's eyes are upon us, the future of our home is now in your hands. For three weeks we will train with the Marines, going through combat drills. Be prepared for a tough three weeks. Is that clear?"

"RYOKAI!" They shouted back.

Halting just ahead of the formation of Japanese soldiers, the side doors of the L-ATV opened up, three figures jumped down and made their way to Itami.

And to Kuribayashi's surprise, her heart skipped a beat.


	34. Chapter 33

Chapter 33:

The not-so calm before the storm

 _October 8th 2019, Fort Mars, Apollomon Valley._

The vehicle lightly stirred as it drove through the rugged roads of the castle. A light bump shook Raymond from his small slumber, his eyes blinked a few times, his mouth let out a long yawn, making the Gunnery-Sergeant sitting next to him glance at him with a grin.

"Rough night, skipper?"

"The worst I've gotten so far," Raymond answered sincerely, rubbing his eyes before gazing at the side window, spotting the large transport helicopter making its descent on their improvised landing zone, "That and also because I had a stomach ache, Doc's pills did the opposite effect on me."

"You think you can survive until the end of the introduction to the Japs?" Dukeman asked teasingly.

"Of course, I'm a captain for a reason." Raymond responded with a smile of his own.

The L-ATV halted abruptly. Raymond readjusted himself on his seat before gazing out through the vehicle's windshield. The JSDF soldiers were in formation, their platoon leader speaking to them.

"Who are we welcoming exactly?" He asked out loud.

Dukeman stared at him dumbfounded, "You mean you didn't read the clipboard I left on your desk?"

Raymond shrugged, "Nope, I think I was too tired to even notice it." He responded truthfully.

The company sergeant groaned and rummaged through his admin pouch on his plate carrier. He took out a folded sheet of paper and handed it to Raymond. The captain unfolded it and read it silently. A small smile graced his face, and if Dukeman wasn't imagining things, a faint blush appeared on his cheeks.

Dukeman bumped the officer's shoulder with a mischievous grin, "Come on, let's go say 'hi' to your girlfriend." He said as he got out of the vehicle, the Marines sitting at the front of the vehicle stiffled their laughter.

"She's not - wait how did you know- Goddamnit, Louis!" Raymond hurried out of the vehicle, his friend already walking ahead of him with a faint smile. "Jackass..." He muttered under his breath and picked up his pace to catch up with Dukeman.

* * *

Kuribayashi watched anxiously as Itami and Raymond spoke with each other amicably, relieved and happy to see one another alive and well. Standing next to her was Kurata, whom for the pass two minutes glanced between her and the Marine captain. He lightly bumped her arm.

"Hey," He whispered discreetly, "You alright?" He asked concernly.

She simply nodded in reply. Her eyes were staring at Raymond, unable to shift her focus on anything else. Then Raymond's quickly looked at her, a soft smile appearing on his face before he returned his attention to Itami.

That soft and comforted look made Kuribayashi blush intensely. Meanwhile Kurata put two and two together and mouth gaped in surprise.

"Don't tell me-"

"Shut up, Sergeant." She warned dangerously through her gritted teeth.

He shut his mouth for a moment before he spoke up again, "Is it official?" He asked curiously.

She sighed and answered truthfully, "I don't know, we haven't talked about it yet."

"Oh. I'm sure things will go well between you two." He said optimistically.

Despite the fact that Kurata can be an idiot, in her opinion, she was also glad to have him as a friend, his optimism had a positive effect on her.

"Thanks." She said with a soft smile.

"Don't mention it."

The two officers finished their conversation and the platoon leader faced his soldiers, "Five minute break, then get your packs ready to move out!" He instructed.

The men and women did as ordered. With some sighing in relief, chatter filled the ranks, soldiers spreaded out and gathered into their own groups, smoking and talking to pass the time.

"So, how's with the new platoon?" Raymond asked as he gave Itami a water bottle.

"Different..." He answered before taking a sip of water, "Mostly rookies fresh out of boot camp."

"Jesus Christ, really?" Dukeman asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, and with Kuwahara gone, I had Tomita-san to replace him," He told them casually, "He's been a doing a good job at getting these guys in shape and always ready for combat."

"Had any of them seen combat?"

"We've been into a firefight last week that lasted an hour, don't know if you can consider them battle-hardened yet." The First Lieutenant sighed tiredly before he felt the presence of Sergeant-Major Tomita.

"Captain, Gunnery-Sergeant," He greeted formally with a nod.

"How does it feel to be a senior now, Tomita?" Raymond asked amusingly.

The tall man chuckled and took off his helmet, running a hand through his black hair to maintain it upward, "Not easy, sir, some of them are just too young to be here, they prefer sight-seeing the Digital World than doing their actual job."

"Don't worry, Sergeant-Major, we'll have them shaped up in one time," Dukeman said, a sadistic smile slowly crept on his lips, "We'll make them suffer, alright."

A loud horn caught everyone's attention. They all looked at the direction of the sound to see two military transport trucks approaching the area.

"Get your packs! We're moving out!" Bellowed Tomita.

"I'll see you guys back at HQ." Itami said before he hurried over his packs.

The transport trucks lined up and waited for the Japanese soldiers to hop on board. In an orderly line, the JSDF troopers got in the vehicles, weapon slung on one side and the combat pack held on the other.

Dukeman and Raymond watched them silently as they go by. Raymond gave small nods of acknowledgement to the members of the original Third Recon team, recognizing their faces instantly. Lastly, his eyes met Kuribayashi's. She slowed down her pace and smiled warmly at him, a light blush present on her cheeks. He replied with his own, awkwardly waving 'hello' at her. She did the same before she went on the transport.

Once the vehicles drove to the JSDF's barracks, Dukeman decided to break the small silence that fell between them.

"So is it official or not?"

"What?"

"Your relationship with her." The senior NCO precised. Immediately Raymond looked away nervously, his cheeks heating up.

"Not sure, actually, I haven't told her yet."

"Tch," Dukeman shook his head in disappointment as he makes his way to the L-ATV, "You should tell her before it's too late."

"I'll tell sooner or later," Raymond responded with a shrug.

"This week," Dukeman instructed firmly, though with a faint grin.

"Fine, I'll tell her this week."

* * *

 _October 12th 2019, Fort Mars._

"Target!"

Rifles roared instantly, high-speeding bullets hitting their targets made of a slab of metal. Metallic 'pings' echoed across the hundred meters firing range. The line of Marines and JGSDF soldiers kept firing their weapons almost simultaneously.

"Cease fire! Cease fire!" Dukeman shouted as he strides behind the line of soldiers, his eyes inspecting each man and woman on the range, "Inspection, ARMS!"

The men and women in uniforms took out their magazine, pointing their rifle's muzzle at the ground, pulled the rifle's bolt and glanced at the chamber to ensure the weapon's safety. Once the safety inspection was done, they stood straightly with their weapon held close to their torso, muzzle pointed at the ground of course.

"Fall in! Third rank up!" Tomita shouted the orders.

Meanwhile Itami and Raymond stared closely at the soldiers, making sure that no mistakes were done. Both officers had clipboards with them, noting down the soldier's performance at the range.

For the new members of the Third Recon team (or "unit" as it recently changed its name), training with the Marines had taken quite a toll on them. Some of the men were sleep deprived, exhausted or extremely hungry, having not enough time to get a proper breakfast or lunch. Most of the time they would empty their meal out while jogging to the range. But they also proved the veterans that they were determined to win and can handle some of the punishment.

"Ready, Target!"

Kuribayashi lifted the Type 89 rifle almost on instinct, the movement and feel of the rifle on her was second nature to her, part of her. Her chest hunched over, hands grasping firmly the rifle, her right cheek resting on the stock and her right eye focused behind the red dot sight.

She held her breath in, slowly squezzing the trigger until she felt the oh so familiar kick against her right shoulder. The rifle recoiled slightly upwards, the sight jerked up as the bullet shot out of the barrel, hitting the black painted slab of steel at the chest. She breathed out, her index letting go of the trigger and refocused the red dot on the target. Shortly after she fired the second and so on, firing in quick successions until she emptied her whole magazine.

She took the empty mag out, racked the bolt open, glanced at the chamber and released the bolt, a sharp 'snap' rang to her ears. She straightened her back and lowered her rifle, waiting for further orders.

"Inspection, ARMS!" She waited as the others applied the order, going through their inspection, "Reload!" She fetched through her plate carrier and pulled out a fresh 30-round magazine. She dumped the empty one on her dump pouch buckled to her side and placed the new mag in the rifle.

"Target!"

She repeated the same automatic actions, like a working machine, a programmed drone, everything felt right at home for her.

"Cease fire! Cease fire!"

"Inspection, ARMS!"

She went through her quick rifle inspection and waited patiently. As Tomita was scolding a FNG for not doing the proper weapon inspection, her gaze shifted off to the side and to Raymond.

The Marine officer had his dark shades on and helmet off, his messy black hair barely short enough for regulations. He ran a hand through his hair, wiping the sweat and grime on his forehead. He then took off his glasses for a moment and peeped at Kuribayashi, who was still staring at him.

He somehow looked concerned for her and grimaced, pointing at her direction, or was it behind her?

"Master Sergeant!" She heard Tomita yelling at her.

She snapped back to reality and jerked her head towards the Sergeant-Major. "Get your head out of the clouds and fall in!" He lightly scolded her, making her flushed in embarrassment in front of the whole platoon.

She hurried back to her rank, taking off her combat helmet and pratically shooting her arm out for her water bottle.

Sitting on a metal table near her, Kurata stared at her with genuine worry. "Are you okay, Shino-sama?" He asked lowly, using her informal name, "You seemed frozen in place out there."

"I'm fine, Takeo, just... thinking about stuffs." She dismissively answered.

Not wanting to press further, Kurata held himself from asking any more questions and pretended to be satisfied with the answer given to him.

Later in the evening, Kuribayashi had been called over to Itami's office/personal quarter. She lightly knocked on the wooden door.

"Enter!" She heard him said across the room.

She opened the door and went in. The platoon leader was behind his desk, his eyes intensely focused on a map before his head perked up, it was evident that he didn't have enough sleep since they've arrive in the fort.

"You wanted to see me, Lieutenant?" She asked curiously. It surprised her the fact that Itami of all people wanted to speak to her in private.

"Yup," He answered as he stood up from his seat and making his way towards her with a plastic bag in hand, "In fact, follow me." He instructed, opening the door for her and lead her out of the room.

The two Japanese soldiers walked down the corridors of the keep. Itami hasn't told her the reason why he called her in the first place.

"Um, Lieutenant, where are we going?" She asked in perplex.

"We're visiting someone," He quickly replied, "Actually, you're visiting someone." That still doesn't make any sense to her at all.

In fact, it's making her boiling with anger that her commander is playing with riddles. Just as she was about to speak out her protest, Itami halted in front of a door. "And we're here. Take this."

He handed to her the plastic bag, it had two fresh cans of ice tea. How he got these, she will never know nor does she currently care; there are other pressing issues to adress first.

"What the-"

"I'm doing you a service here," He cut her off, "Go see him and at least tell him." He told her with a comforting smile, which didn't work on her. It did the opposite effect.

"What?! You can't be serious?" He is serious.

"I am serious." He affirmed.

"B-but why?"

"Because I want to help. That, and I've made a huge bet with the guys," He said while shrugging nonchalantly, "Don't worry, I made sure no one will notice you two. Now go in." He started to walk to the opposite direction, giving her thumbs ups for good luck.

Just when he was out of her sight, she began to panic in place, _"Just what the fuck is going now?!"_ She looked left and right, pacing in place, her mind going a thousand miles per hour, her heartbeat matching the fire rate of a machine gun and an endless amount of butterflies fluttered deep in the pit of her guts.

She sighed in frustration but steeled her resolves, fuck it, she brought herself in this mess might as well make a shot for it. She tightly balled her fists and shakingly raised her right fist. She firmly hit her knuckles against the thick wooden frame of the door.

"Come in." Raymond replied from the other side.

Smooth and easy, she opened the door.

* * *

He got in his personal quarters, mentally tired after hours of going through tactics and plans for the upcoming invasion.

Dukemon sighed and slowly took off his armour piece by piece. While doing so, the day's event kept running through his mind.

Tokū Solis is a large city, the largest in the whole continent – about two thirds of Tokyo – whatever that meant from the humans. With a population of three million, excluding the Legions and reserves stationed in there, it will be hard to breach through the city without military and civilian casualties.

The enemy is well fortified and dug in, despite the fact that the Imperials were completely surrounded from all sides by the coalition except from the vast Huanglongmon Ocean. It is so far the largest military operation in Digimon history, far larger than the beach landings in Operation Normandy, with over four hundred thousand digimon on the ground with an additional two hundred thousand from the IDDF, the Imperium was greatly outnumbered and outgunned.

But somehow these statistics did not shake off a strong feeling of dread that was eating his guts and mind. It is a guarantee that men will die shortly after making boots on Imperial soil.

 _"Probably in the hundreds in a few days."_ Duftmon's cold statement made him shudder under his skin.

No matter how much he wanted to prove Duftmon wrong, the Royal Knight Tactician was right. Humans aren't digimon, they can't measure their strenghts like they could with other digimon. Each human being has a high probability to get killed no matter how skillful they are in battle.

It just takes one attack to kill one or more humans in seconds. It was a grim thought but this is the reality of this conflict; men will die once the operation starts.

Dukemon sighed and lied on his makeshift bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. He slowed his breathing, calming his nerves as he tries to go to sleep.

 _"Y'know this should be the "calm before the storm" thing, right?"_ Came UlforceVeedramon's humourous statement when they were in the war room.

"So much for that..." He grimly muttered before finally closing his eyes, catching up on whatever amount of sleep he can get.

* * *

The two of them remained silent for three solid minutes, that felt more like three hours straight. Neither of them spoke up.

Kuribayashi walked in his room just when he was about to put his combat shirt on. And now here they are, frozen in place and blushing madly. Fortunately she closed the door the second after she went in.

She gazed at his bare chest before looking back up into his eyes. He just kept his eyes on hers during the whole time.

Slowly, Raymond put his shirt on and cleared his throat to break the awkward silence.

"Need anything?" He asked nervously.

Kuribayashi snapped back from her trance and vigorously nodded, "I want t-to talk with y-you about s-something..." She said through her stutter.

Raymond silently nodded and gestured to sit next to him on the folding cot next to his small desk. They sat down, leaving only a foot of space between them.

"Um, here..." She shyly gave him the plastic bag.

He took it and peered into it. There were two cans of ice tea. "T-thanks..." He grabbed one and gave the other to Kuribayashi.

They opened their beverage can and took a small sip in synch. Silence fell again between the two, neither of them wanted to speak, but deep down, they wanted to express something. That was when Raymond decided to steel his resolve, _"I'm a captain for a reason, for fuck's sake!"_ He thought to himself.

He sighed and-

"I love you." The woman next to him blurted out, cutting him off.

He looked at her, she was avoiding his gaze while her cheeks flared into a darker shade of red. Nervously, she stared back at him, her mouth and eyes quivering with fear. That was new to him. She was always so confident in herself, heck even aggressive, in a very stressful environment, but now there she is, shying away like a small puppy.

 _"...Cute..."_ He inwardly commented at the thought.

Sadly sighing she looked away, she knew that she was rushing things, especially at a inappropriate time. She could be punished and, at the very least, be suspended from active duty or worst case scenario, be dishonorably discharged for misconduct.

She felt her hand being clasped with his, squeezing her hand in comfort. She glanced at their intertwined hands before staring back at him, a soft smile curving on his lips.

"I... I know this is not the right time nor the most romantic, but..." He sighed, his thumb gently stroking her hand, "I-I love you too..."

They stared at each other in silence, their hearts beating in synch now that they've confessed their feelings for one another. Slowly, they both leaned forward, their eyes slowly closing before their lips met. It was first a gentle, soft kiss. They pulled back and stared at each other's eyes.

Filled with love and joy, Shino rushed in, clashing her lips with his with more vigour, more passion, letting her heart blossom with this new, foreign and warm feeling in her chest.

He felt his heart rate rising by the seconds. For the first time in years, he felt that strong feeling, love, it is powerful, comforting, warm. Sure he had being in a relationship back in highschool and in his early years as a Marine grunt, but this one felt stronger, better... perfect.

And then the universe decided to toy with him.

Dukeman walked in the room holding two cups of coffee. The Gunnery-Sergeant almost tripped on the floor once he noticed the couple kissing. Raymond was thankful that Louis was mindful enough to immediately close the door.

Another awkward silence fell in the room. Kuribayashi and Raymond stared at Dukeman with wide eyes, like deers staring at an incoming car. She felt her face draining of colours as dread came up her spine. Raymond nervously gulped.

"You forgot that I just moved in this quarter, huh?" Kuribayashi gazed at the other side of the room and sure enough there was a second folding cot.

"Well, is it official now?" Came Dukeman's question.

She looked at Raymond with a confused look. He glanced at her, sheepishly grinned and gave a nod at Dukeman. He sighed in relief with a roll of his eyes.

"Finally! Took you long enough to have some balls!"

She observed the two in bewilderment and perplexion, things are making less and less sense as time goes by.

"You're not angry?" She meekly asked.

Dukeman held his hands up, though carefully to not spill the coffee on himself, "Didn't see anything nor do I know what you did, I have a _very_ short memory span," He replied with a playful wink, "As much as I hate to ruin your _little moment_ , skipper, I suggest that the Master Sergeant should regroup with her unit before someone else finds her here."

"You're right..." She complied and stood up.

She walked towards the door and quietly pulled open. She peeped left and right and glanced behind, waving shyly at her new boyfriend before quickly making her way out.

He stayed silent after she left, suddenly overwhelmed with the emotion. He stared at his can of ice tea before noticing her's on the ground just at the corner of his field of view. He took the second and drank his beverage whole.

He raised the second can in the air before taking a sip from it. _"Cheers, love."_

* * *

 _October 14th 2019, Fort Mars._

The gust of wind blew around the landing zone. Raymond shielded his eyes from the assaulting wind of dust and small pebbles as the UH-1Y Venom made its slow descent. Coming out of the transport helicopter were two figures.

"Welcome to Fort Mars, Colonel!" Raymond greeted Colonel Eversman loudly with a firm salute, "It's good to see you again!"

"Likewise, Captain!"

Raymond escorted the two individuals away from the dust cyclone and towards the waiting L-ATVs. Once clear from the small tornado, Raymond spotted Lieutenant-Colonel Richards.

"Colonel Richards, it is nice to see you again!" He greeted formally with a salute.

"Likewise, Captain. I see that you're still kicking ass out here." Raymond chuckled and clasped his hand with his, happily shaking it.

"Your ride is waiting for the both of you, they will take you straight to C HQ. I need to wait a few more minutes for the Royal Knights." Raymond explained to the high-ranking officers.

The men nodded and strided to their designated transport. He watched as the vehicle drove off. Dukeman got out of the driver's seat, jumped out of the vehicle and leaned against its large, metallic frame.

"Who are we actually expecting, Captain?"

"Alphamon, Omegamon, Ouryuumon and Duftmon... I think." He answered sincerely.

"Heh, speak of the devil." Dukeman pointed out to the sky, a group of flying digimon coming towards them.

The Royal Knights and the Captain of the Strike Forces touched the fort's stone ground. The Mega-level digimon observed the current state of the fort. They then noticed Raymond approaching, his signature smile greeted them.

"Welcome to Fort Mars, Royal Knights," He said with a friendly tone, "And Captain Ouryuumon," He added teasingly, receiving a scoff from the serpentine dragon.

Alphamon chuckled and gave a pat on Ouryuumon's back, "Light up for once, friend," He suggested with a smile behind his helmet.

"I'll _"light up"_ once I can get a decent break after the war, Alphamon," The dragon shot back bluntly.

"My higher-ups are waiting for you at HQ," Raymond reported dutifully.

"Then lead the way, Captain," Responded Alphamon.

The four digimon flew at low altitude while following the massive L-ATV vehicle. Along the way to HQ, they received surprised looks from passing human soldiers, either in training or on patrol.

Arriving at the keep, the digimon followed on foot the two humans in the fortification. Leading them through the hallways, Raymond chatted with the five digimon to pass the time until they've reached the meeting room.

The room was a large open hall, now filled with numerous military equipment, communication systems, computers and military personels doing their job. In the middle of the room laid a long, rectangular wooden table. On it laid the map of the imperial city and its surroundings, markers and pins displayed on the map.

Around the table of operation were Colonel Eversman, Lieutenant-Colonel Richards, Captain Middendorf, Captain Torres of Charlie Company with their respective company sergeants and XO, First Lieutenant Sullivan and First Lieutenant Itami with Sergeant-Major Tomita.

The group of officers and senior NCOs, perked up at the arrival of the digimon. They formally greeted each other and began to report on the current situation.

"The JGSDF is currently low on manpower to conduct a full frontal attack. That is why Colonel Hazama is spreading 1st and 2nd Combat force to other friendly forces while the 4th Air Combat force will drop on the city with the 1st Airborne Brigade and other airborne units." Eversman told the Royal Knights.

"You plan on sending every men to the front?" Captain Ouryuumon inquired curiously while Duftmon examined the map attentively, taking in account the IDDF's movements and attacks.

"We plan on ending the war as soon as possible; we will be hitting them hard and fast where it truly hurts." The Colonel replied firmly and confidently, "First, at early morning, our air forces will precision strike key enemy locations to cripple their ability to support and supply themselves, disrupting their communications and heavy support assets as well as reducing a great chunk of their defenses. Then, special forces and airborne units will drop in and capture critical locations such as railway stations and airfields for example. Finally, the main ground force will strike the city on all sides with armour at the lead." As he goes on with the plan, he pointed at the map their movements and enemy locations, "Once we push through the city, we will establish FOBs and link with the airborne units until we push back and strike at the city's heart, the Imperial Palace."

The Royal Knights remained silent, Duftmon stroked his chin thoughtfully. The humans' way of warfare was far different than those of the digimon, it was manoeuvre warfare: to defeat the enemy by incapacitating their decision-making through shock and disruption. It was more efficient, cutting off their strongpoints and the rest will collapse. Combined with the controlled chaos and confusion caused by the airborne and special forces units, even a well fortified enemy can fall quickly.

Unlike tactics used by most digimon militaries, which involves masses of armies clashing with each other in a war of attrition, this was not a hammer striking the enemy, this was more of a surgical strike, sliting the enemy's throat with careful precision and let them bleed out.

Duftmon had studied human historical and ancient warfare, finding similarities between theirs and the humans military strategies. However he noted that warfare tend to evolve for the humans, becoming faster paced and closer ranged. Modern soldiers were trained to overwhelm the enemy with volume of fire instead of accurate fire unlike their predecessors of World War II. The use of combined force had shown to be more effective at defeating an enemy.

For once, he liked the humans' military mindset: break the enemy's will to fight instead of their numbers.

Alphamon decided to speak up while giving Duftmon more time to think a suitable strategy, "The Draconic Republic and the UAF had spared some of their units to our Aerial Strike Force, this should increase our capacity to cripple enemy defense at the early hours." The Aloof Hermit looked at Ouryuumon for confirmation.

"Affirmative, Hippogriffomon and I have two hundred troops at our disposal, this should even the playing field against the imperials." Ouryuumon assured them sincerely.

"And what about the emperor?" Omegamon asked inquisitively.

"We can't be a hundred percent sure," Began Richards, "But the reports from the DRD and drone images we have, suggest that he is currently residing at the Imperial Palace. However we also need to take the High Command," He explained with a light frown, "It has been told that they are capable of leading the Imperium even if the big E is captured or dead."

"Captured or dead? You want to assassinate him?" The white knight asked with genuine surprise.

"No, but we can't capture him either, for all we know, he can be a powerful digimon. That is why we're leaving that task to you and your allies." Richards answered as a matter of fact.

"That also goes with the High Command," Added Raymond.

"We will have to split our forces so we can cover more ground through the chaos that will ensue." Proposed Duftmon after some careful planning.

"I agree, we need to split the knights into task forces with the Strike Forces." Alphamon said thoughtfully.

"We can also have the Legendary Warriors and the Greymon Five to aid us with our search." Added Omegamon, "Speed is key in this case if we want the chain of command to collapse on itself."

"However it is best if we go in at the same time as the main ground force." The tactician interjected, "We need to differentiate between friendly and hostile forces so that we won't go on a wild goose chase between crossfires." He pointed out diplomatically.

"We should probably assign two knights per task force, we will have a bigger chance of taking out one HVT." Suggested Ouryuumon, to which Duftmon hummed in approval.

"Then it is settled," Declared Alphamon gazing at the humans, "When will the operation begin?"

"Operation "Dragonslayer" will start in two weeks, if our preparations are ready in due time, of course." Answered Eversman with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Fitting name..." Ouryuumon mumbled sarcastically.

"In that case, we will see each other on the battlefield then," Alphamon saluted the humans with respect. The humans repeated the gesture before the digimon left the room.

And for the next two weeks, the human-digimon coalition and the Imperials prepared themselves intensely for the upcoming battle: the battle of Tokū Solis.

* * *

 _October 27th 2019, Fort Mars, eve of "Operation Dragonslayer"._

After much preparation with the mission and equipment, the Force Recon Marines were given the rest of the day to relax at late afternoon. The Marine operators went in the mess hall and quickly took their early dinner.

Once done with eating their meal, they went off on their own way to pass the time, to relax or catch up on some sleep.

The barracks were surprisingly quiet for Renamon as she makes her way through the hallway. She halted her steps when she found her destination. Sighing, she closed her right paw to a fist and knocked on the door. She could hear rustling followed with heavy footsteps. The door opened and a smile graced her features.

"Hey," Guilmon said a hint of confusion, wondering why she was here at this time.

"Can I come in, perhaps?" She asked with a teasing tone.

"Yeah, of course, " He stepped aside and let her in. "But, uh, shouldn't you be with Recon for the preparations?" He asked unsurely as he closed the door behind the vixen.

"We're already set for the op, so we've been given a break time for the rest of the day." She explained with a shrug. She then noticed all the equipment laid on Guilmon's cot and Flamedramon's cot at the other side of the room, "Am I interrupting you?" She asked while pointing at his cot.

Guilmon stood next to her, "Not really, Flamedramon had gone off to a team leaders' meeting and I'm... just checking my stuff." He responded sincerely before staring at her, "Want me to get something for you?"

Renamon waved a paw in denial, "No thanks," She replied kindly.

She walked up to his cot, observing the military equipment he will need to carry during the operation. She noted that his pack was on the heavier side, carrying extra ammunation, MREs, water bottles and medical supplies.

"Soo, are you not too stressed out for the upcoming op?" Guilmon asked curiously to break silence.

"It'll be just like any other op we've been through in the past, just bigger." She answered bluntly, "It's nothing we can't handle."

"Yeah but... this is a _big_ one," Guilmon said, putting more emphasis on "big", "This could end the war and maybe it will get us a ticket home." Renamon noted a tingle of doubt in his voice.

"It will end the war and we will go home, Guilmon," She reassured him with high confidence, "There is nothing you should worry about."

"Except for you," He stated glumly.

Renamon turned around and took his claws into her paws, squeezing them with comfort. She stared deeply into his eyes and smiled softly.

"I'll be fine, you can count on that."

But Guilmon didn't met her eyes, he stared at the ground with growing doubt. "I know but... I have this feeling that things will go wrong... I-I... might lose you..."

Renamon cupped her paws around his face, turning it towards her face so she can look at him face-to-face. She hardened her gaze, "You will **never** lose me. I will **never** lose you, even if you want to," She stated firmly, "No matter what, we will always, always be together. Is that clear, Lance Corporal Guilmon?"

The dragon digimon dryly chuckled, feeling a bit reassured by his mate's words, "Yes, Staff Sergeant." He responded with an amused smile.

"Good," She leaned in and kissed him passionately, stroking warmly his smooth scales on his cheeks.

She felt his claws gently holding onto her hips, a moan escaped his mouth, closed shut by her lips. The couple deepened further into the kiss, leaning their head on the side. Guilmon let her eager tongue in his mouth, felling his heart beat with more passion and love.

Acting on instinct and courage, he lifted her onto his abdomen, her legs wrapping around his waist while her lips were still linked with his.

He stumbled his way towards his cot, one claw wiping away some of his equipment to the side to make some space for his lover.

However too entranced in the heated kiss and he slipped forward, he yelped in surprise and they both landed on the cot at a weird angle, with Renamon being crushed by the metal frame of the folding cot and Guilmon's weight. The sudden weight pressure prompted the cot to flip on the side, spilling the couple and the entire equipment on the floor.

A resounding crash echoed loudly in the room. Guilmon quickly got himself off Renamon so that she wouldn't suffocate by his weight. A crimson blush heated his already red scales.

"Ah shit! I'm so sorry!" He pleaded with worry and in panic.

However Renamon simply laughed hysterically. She was howling in laughter, uncontrollably. Guilmon was completely caught off guard by her reaction, despite the fact she got hurt and crushed by him.

But slowly, he felt himself chuckling before he too laughed with her, he didn't know how or why but it felt good to just laugh.

Laughing for two straight minutes, it slowly died down into fits of giggles. Renamon wiped away a tear with her claw before wrapping her arms around Guilmon's neck lovingly, gazing into his warm golden orbs.

"I love you, you know that, right?"

Guilmon nodded in confirmation, "I know, and I love you too."

They both smiled at each other before it was Guilmon's turn to engage a kiss. Their lips locked in warmly, smoothingly. The kiss was slower paced, softer, more gentle. Much to his dismay, Renamon reluctantly retracted her lips away with an amused, sly grin.

"You just swore three minutes ago." She stated playfully, making him tilt his head sideways.

"I did?" He shrugged and pressed his forehead against hers lovingly, making her hum pleasantly in response, "Maybe I did..." He said nonchalantly before giving her a quick kiss on the lips.

* * *

 _October 28th 2019, 0400 hours, three hours in the operation._

Colonel Eversman climbed on top of the Amtrak, a megaphone in one hand. He gazed at the sea of Marines as they were gathered around him.

"Marines!" His amplified voice reached out to them, "Today, we will embark on a difficult mission to end this war. For almost three years, we've been fighting tooth and nails through hell and back again. We've lost many brothers and sisters in arms but their sacrifices were not in vain. Marines, the eyes of the world are upon you, the fate of our future rests in your hands. Today, marks an important event in our History, in Humanity's History and we **will** be the victors! I am proud of your achivements that go far and beyond the call of duty and that is why I call once again, needing your outmost courage, devotion to duty and skill to battle, to perform your task with determination and unshakeable will to defeat the enemy and win this fight! The hopes and prayers of your families will accompany you in this very difficult time. You will destroy the Imperial war machine and assure the freedom of this world and ours. This will not be easy for the enemy is well-trained and battle-hardened, the will fight savagely. I have full confidence that will overcome the obstacles and crush our foes. We will accept nothing but full victory. They've started this war, we will end it! May the Almighty God bless each and everyone of you and Retreat Hell!"

"RETREAT HELL!" The unified shouts of the Digital Marines roared across the fort.

The Marines ran to their designated ground vehicles. The men, women and digimon in uniform were ready and pumped up to ride to battle. The machines of war roared to life. Columns of armoured vehicles drove out of the fort, flying above the large formation of ground forces were attack helicopters and high speeding jets passing ahead of them with their distinct screechs.

All around the city, the armies of the IDDF were mobilised to battle, the horns of war had been heard.

Thus the First "Digital Marines" Battalion will go once again into hell, known as the battlefield.


	35. Chapter 34

Chapter 34:

Dragonslayer _(part 1)_

 _October 28_ _th_ _2019, 0540 hours, Tok_ _ū_ _Solis._

 _"To all Vikings, break formation into squadrons, clear the road ahead for the Marines."_

The triangular formations of tanks broke down and spread apart onto the grassy plains, the column of vehicles remained on the paved road, heading towards the chaotic city.

Intense firefights and fierce explosions echoed across the landscape and throughout the city. The loud cacophony of battle could be heard through the armour plates of the APCs. Nearby tanks started to shoot volleys of shells and machine gun fire.

From above, a storm of rockets and missiles soared in the sky, plummeting to the ground in resounding explosions of fire and asphalt. Dark clouds rose up to the sky, numbering in the hundreds.

The L-ATV's windshield shook as two attack jets flew at low altitude just above them. Corporal Brook looked up with worried eyes.

"Jesus Christ..." He mumbled in disbelief and awe.

"You okay, Corporal?" Asked Lieutenant Sparks, shifting his attention away from the buzzing radio.

"Yes, Lieutenant, I'm glad we're hammering the Imperials down..." He assured his platoon commander, "I'm just worried for the civilians. Did we even warned them?"

Sparks sighed and looked ahead of him, witnessing the ongoing destruction with his eyes coldly, "That wasn't our job to do so, it was the digimon's."

"I hope they made it out in time. At least some of them."

"I hope so too," Sparks stated, a tired yawn escaped his mouth, "But we need to focus on the mission. Join up with the SFs and Paras and fortify our lines." He reminded the worried driver.

"Yes, Lieutenant."

Off to the side of the main road were several groups of civilians, escaping the ruined city. They waved and called for the humans but the Marines had a more important mission. The Marines just drove past the helpless civilians with reluctance, leaving them behind to their uncertain fate.

However, there will be more civilians to encounter, thousands trapped admist the chaos and violence, caught in the intense crossfire. They were either hiding or dead at this point.

"Alpha-Actual, this is Alpha 1-Actual, we're approaching the city's limit." Sparks announced through the radio.

 _"Copy, be ready for anything, Marines, this is the Wild West beyond that point."_

"Oorah." Sparks muttered as he grabs his M4A1 carbine, inspecting if the chamber was loaded.

In the far distance, they could see one of the city's skyscrapers collapsing on itself, a large mushroom cloud of dust and smoke arose seconds after the fall of the tall building.

"Holy shit..." Brook said with wide eyes.

The convoy finally entered in the city, surrounded by towering civilian buildings such as apartments, restaurants, hotels or work offices to name a few. The armoured convoy drove slowly, observing carefully its surroundings for an ambush or an IED.

Deep in the urban jungle, they could hear firefights all around them, unable to pinpoint their directions.

Sparks looked at his map, trying to figure out their position and their objective point. Despite the fact the streets were large enough to accomodate four tanks side by side, the environment looked the same, adding to the factor of confusion was the light mist of dust obscuring some degree of visual.

They were moving in enemy territory, the sound of gunfire closing in on them but so far they haven't encountered any enemy contact.

Suddenly the windshield cracked. A large hole appeared in front of Brook's very eyes, the cracks spreading across the entire windshield, completely obscuring his vision. He slammed on the brakes, the massive L-ATV came to a screeching halt. The passengers were forcefully shoved forward on their seat before weapon cracks and bullets whizzing pass the vehicle.

 _"CONTACT!"_

Brook heard the M2 Browning machine gun going off above him, the turret gunner shot lethal doses of hot lead. A handful of empty fifty caliber casings fell in the vehicle.

"Steer to the side!" Sparks ordered loudly.

Brook grabbed the steering wheel and blindly drove to the left. The vehicle shifted abruptly to the side, almost throwing off the gunner.

"Fuck! Stop the vehicle!" The gunner, a Lance Corporal, shouted urgently, "We're going to run into a building."

On command, Brook slammed his foot on the brakes, the vehicle suddenly decreasing in speed in a matter of seconds. He felt his body being once again pushed forward by the momentum.

Multiple enemy rounds struck the vehicle's armour, doing significant damage as they chewed into the armour platings.

"Stay in the vehicle!" Sparks instructed him, "The rest of you disembark and get behind the vehicle!"

"Yes, lieutenant!" They replied without a protest.

Sparks opened the side door, ducked his head as a hissing bullet barely scraped his helmet, and quickly ran around the vehicle, slamming his back against the transport vehicle. To his right was a small restaurant, the building they almost ran into. In front of him, he had a clear view of the rest of the convoy. They were spread out, Marines and JSDF soldiers of the Third Recon Unit were on foot engaging the enemy. The four Amtraks stayed behind, launching above the Marines high explosive grenades. Coming to their left were two M1A3 Abrams tanks, arriving to give heavy support to the ground troops.

Two H.E shells shot out of the tanks, pounding a building two hundred fifty meters ahead of their position. The building caved in and collapsed, further deepening the cloud of dust that envelopped the city.

With the supposed threat down, the Marines advanced a couple of meters before being pinned down by more enemy fire.

* * *

All over the city, soldiers were caught in a fierce stalemate with enemy forces. Special Operations Forces units and paratroopers were being cut off from the main force, unable to regroup. Soon, they'll need supplies and medical evacuations for the wounded and the dead.

Stuck and backed into a corner of a neighbourhood with a platoon of U.S Army Rangers, Renamon's squad was on the rooftop of the double "T" shaped building that now acted as their sole cover.

Eventhough they were surrounded by enemy forces, their position offered an advantageous view on the city, with ample amount of cover and chokepoints in their favour. Behind the building was a tall concrete wall, forming a sort of inner courtyard. The right, through a narrow alleyway, was the street and just across it was the concrete wall.

By accident, the Rangers had found the perfect position to regroup and to defend themselves from the enemy. They have eyes on the two parallel streets, the main road along with the wide open square in front of them and they don't have to worry about being shot in the back.

Two klicks North-West of their position was a small sniper team of paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division, giving them additional sniper support and extra eyes on the streets for the Rangers and Force Recon Marines.

"I've got eyes on you, Charlie 6, friendlies on the rooftop of FOB" Goodwing", over." Renamon informed the sniper team as she and her team set up their equipment and rifles.

 _"Affirmative, we've got eyes on you, Spartan 2. Glad to have you guys join the fun."_ The sniper team leader said with a laid back tone.

The five-Marine team got into their positions on the rooftop. Renamon replaced her MK18 carbine for her M40A5 sniper rifle. Her squadmates either had a DMR or a bolt-action sniper rifle; and in case they needed a more powerful punch, Sergeant Adam Blade – still nicknamed as "Rookie" - came with the M82A3 anti-material rifle, a powerful sniper rifle chambered in .50 BMG, it could easily punch through several layers of Chrome Digizoid.

She deployed the rifle's bipod and rested them on the small wall that surrounded the rooftop.

"I've got eyes on two dozen hostiles, three hundred meters on the right street, coming in hot." Reported Sergeant "Roach" Sanderson while peering into the scope of his M110 SASS, "They're hugging against the buildings."

"Smart..." Renamon muttered while adjusting her aim, "Any armour?"

"Negative, Staff Sergeant," He replied coolly, "Should we engage?"

"Wait until they're fully exposed, then you waste them." She instructed.

The Marines set their aim for the incoming enemy wave. Renamon warned the Ranger platoon leader of the enemy, the elite soldiers set up their defenses and machine gun positions in the building while some prepared themselves outside behind a wall of sandbags.

"Rookie," She called the sergeant, "How many rounds do still have left for the M203?"

"Twelve rounds, H.E and four smokes," He answered back.

"Spare them, use them only when necessary."

"Yes, Staff Sergeant."

Her cold eyes focused behind the scope, she switched the safety off and gently placed her finger on the trigger. She calmed her breathing, controlling it at a low rhythmic rate. Crosshair set at the corner of the building, she spotted the faint shadows of the soldiers casted on the street.

Then a head popped out, carefully, glancing left and right, before signaling the rest of the column of legionaires to move out. Rushing out for a nearby cover, a Commandramon tucked their head in and hunched their body over, making themselves as small of a target as possible. In the five second gap that they have to move from point A to point B, Renamon fired the first shot.

The rifle's roar echoed in the street, the bullet sped across the field, struck the digimon through their chest, a cloud of blood bursted out of their back and spraying all over the ground.

Following the first shot, four digimon fell on the street: three dead and one severely wounded, crawling their way back to their shocked comrades.

Their supposed leader, an Assaultmon, shouted at the troops to move out. Soon the whole enemy wave dashed out of cover and fired randomly at the buildings, a couple of stray bullets flew just above the Force Recon sniper team. An angry shower of bullets stormed at the Imperials, taking out a half of their numbers in less than a minute. Not knowing where they were getting shot at, but they were also outnumbered and exposed to the humans, trapped by deadly snipers and superior volume of fire. Just as they were about to eliminate the first wave, a second wave of legionaires came to support them with a larger force behind them. Another detachment of hostile troops came around the corner and moved up to the concrete wall to the FOB's right, trying to flank the Rangers.

Fortunately Rookie was there to beat them to the punch.

A light 'thump' came from his underbarrel grenade launcher, a loud explosion mixed with cries of pain came shortly after.

"Contact to our East! Other side of the wall! Three dozen or so foot mobiles!" He reported quickly as he loads up with another 40mm high explosive round.

More rounds were starting to fly at them but the Rangers and Force Recon Marines remained unflinching, engaging the enemy with more purpose and determination to win.

Blade shot out another grenade, part of the targeted building blew out, throwing aside two Sealsdramon. From below, he spotted two Rangers running up to the wall, and lobbed out two frag grenades over the wall. The legionaires panicked and ran away, only to be destroyed by the two hand grenades. He set his M4A1 carbine on the wall and fired at the incoming enemy soldiers. They were now pinned down by a single Marine. A fireteam of Rangers joined them to the rooftop. They set up a MK48 machine gun near the sniper team while two riflemen provided extra firepower with Rookie to overwatch the right side.

This was, according to the Rangers, the third attack that the Imperials have sent on their position, and now with the two sniper teams, the task of defending the FOB became easier to do so.

"Looks like they know how important this place is!" Roach commented before ducking behind cover.

"It's a great spot. Can't blame them." Pointed out a Ranger with an amused grin.

"Amen to that." Sergeant Andre "Coal" Blackburn added.

Enemy troops were pouring into the square, numbering in half a hundred troops, probably more. On the right side, at the other side of the wall, the enemy had tried numerous attempts to scale over the obstacle and even set explosives but they were quickly gunned down by Rookie and the two Rangers.

They were a bit overwhelmed, fortunately, it was nothing that air support that can't handle.

Two distinct screechings resonated from above, setting fear into the enemy's heart. The A-10 Thunderbolts furiously spewed out a volley of 30mm rounds, decimating the enemy force and painting the streets red and with gore.

* * *

At 0700 hours, the coalition managed to set a foothold in the city, their forces now reorganized.

The Marines of Alpha Company had successfully pushed through some heavy enemy resistance with minimal casualties. The two tanks at the lead destroyed the group of Knightchessmon and Tankdramon. They were approaching on their objective point, just a few blocks away.

Out of his vehicle, Raymond consulted with the executive officer on the map and on their progress while Marines fought off the enemy.

"We're about a klick away from the objective, Captain," The First Lieutenant reported.

"I know that, I just want to know if you had any words from the paratroopers."

"Only from what we've heard an hour ago. We can assume that they've set up their FOB but are taking heavy enemy fire." Sullivan told him.

Raymond shook his head, not liking the situation. He looked at the battlefield, his Marines were already pushing away the enemy, they were about to move out.

"Is it possible that the enemy is jamming our comms?" He asked curiously, considering the possible threat in his mind.

"Probably, Captain." Sullivan replied without much of a thought.

"Then we need to move fast," Raymond claimed, "We need to regroup with the paratroopers and hold that line until the Army gets here."

"What are your suggestions, captain?"

"Once we get to the FOB, I want Medevac and a supply drop on our position. We set up our defenses, capture those three building over there," He indicated on the map, "So that we can overwatch these streets and hopefully halt the enemy from flanking us. We need to-"

They both suddenly ducked down, a round ricocheted off the side of the Amtrak.

"We need to set the tanks here and here," Continued Raymond as if nothing happened.

Once the resistance had been eliminated, the Marine got back in the vehicles, only a handful had to continue the trek on foot, and head for the objective.

They were in full swing. Nothing can stop the convoy. The enemy was still in disarray from the initial bombings and attacks, and so far they were losing control of the city. The Marines could only speculate that maybe, just maybe, the High Command had been assassinated by the Royal Knights. But they'll just have to wait until they get a confirmation.

The convoy steered to the left, one of the tanks bursted through an already ruined building. Earth shattering thunderclaps resonated loudly in the street. Imperials were starting to abandon their post and began to retreat, possibly to regroup and rearm at the Marines' objective point, knowing exactly where they were heading to.

"Hostiles up front! Fifty meters!" Shouted a Marine.

Sparks looked up ahead, spotting three enemy soldiers retreating. He dropped to a knee and lifted his carbine. The ACOG's trijicon crosshair hovered behind a Chackmon's back. He held back his breath and gently squeezed the trigger, a three-round burst shot out of the muzzle, all three rounds connected to the bear's back.

They fell forward, dropping their rocket launcher beside them and lied motionless on the street.

Suddenly out of nowhere a group of civilians ran out of a building, in the middle of the crossfire. The convoy violently stopped on their tracks, some almost bumped on each other.

"Jesus Christ! Get down! Down on the ground!" Sparks angrily ordered the civilians, running out of cover to protect them.

"Lieutenant! Lieutenant!" He heard Flamedramon yelling behind him.

Sparks crossed the street, miraculously avoiding being hit. The group of four civilians saw the human running towards them and shouting at them. They cowered back into the building.

"Down! Down! Down!" He repeated before he got in the half-destroyed building.

He took cover, panting heavily. He looked at the civilians to his left. They were mostly children, to his eyes: two Burgamon, one Gomamon and one Cutemon, all shivering in fright at the sight of the human.

He looked back at the convoy. He spotted Flamedramon and gave a thumbs up. He then faced the group of digimon with a scowl.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You could've been killed out there!" The digimon stared at the ground in shame, "Goddamnit... Stay here until I say otherwise, is that clear?" They nervously nodded in obedience.

He leaned around the corner and fired a couple of shots before he had to reload. His Marines were just less than forty meters away from him but it seemed so far away with enemy fire continously harrassing them.

"Alpha-Actual, 1-Actual, I've got four civilians on me, what should we do? Over."

 _"Repeat last traffic, over."_

"I say again: I've got four civilians on me. Over." He repeated loudly.

 _"... Right... Once the tanks get pass you, bring them to the amtraks, I'll figure something out on the way. Clear?"_ Raymond instructed with reluctance.

"Solid copy, captain." He faced the four rookie-level digimon," Ok, listen up, once these big vehicles get pass us, you will all follow closely behind me, is that clear?" All four nodded meekly, "Ok, cool... let's get you guys to safety."

Blood shot out of the Marine's chest, the man screaming in shock and pain, "Oh fuck! Fuck!"

Kuribayashi shifted her rifle to an enemy soldier, firing in three-round bursts while closing in on the wounded Marine. She grabbed hold onto his plate carrier and dragged him behind a cover with much effort.

She looked over at his wound, a large hole punctured his kevlar plate and guts, the wound gauging out blood.

"Medic! Medic!" She yelled as loud as possible through the intense sounds of gunfire, "Mari! Over here!"

The Japanese combat medic ran to her and slid next to the Marine, her eyes and hands already set on the task.

"We need to get him to the vehicles! Let's go!" She commanded as both women dragged the much heavier man back to the convoy.

The ground trembled and dust fell on them as the tanks fired another volley. The sound of their threads and engines moving gave a signal to Sparks. He glanced out and sure enough they were moving.

"Get ready to move." He warned the digimon.

The massive armoured vehicles drove pass him with Marines following on foot just behind them.

"Let's go!"

Together they ran out of the building and hurried to the convoy. Sparks's men provided cover fire as he finally reached the Amtraks. Once there, he met up with Captain Raymond, a frown on his face when his eyes were on the four digimon.

"Jesus Christ... so these are the digimon that almost got themselves killed, huh?" He asked rhetorically, "Regroup with your platoon, Lieutenant,"

"Thank you, sir." Sparks replied, almost with relief in his voice.

Sullivan stood beside the captain, eyeing the digimon confusely. "Uh, now what, skipper?"

Raymond pinched his nosebridge in frustation, "Eeeeh... I don't know... Call in a helo I guess, we do not have much of a choice..."

He noticed Kuribayashi and Kurokawa dragging a wounded Marine back, next to a group of busy corpsmen and other wounded men.

"Kurokawa!" He called her, the medic spun around and gave him a confused look, "Do you need help to evac the wounded?"

She placed a hand behind her left ear and slightly narrowed her eyes with uncertainty written on her face, she demanded him to speak up.

"I said: do you need help to evac the wounded?" He repeated loudly while pointing at the wounded Marines.

She simply nodded and gave a thumbs up in reply. Satisfied enough with her answer, Raymond ordered Sullivan to call in a Medevac.

"Itami!" The mentionned lieutenant turned around, "Get a squad to stay here until evac arrives." He ordered in Japanese.

The First Lieutenant nodded and looked back at his platoon. After some quick thinking he called the designated squad leader:

"Furuta! Sergeant!"

"Hai!" The newly promoted sergeant and former chef responded.

"I want your squad to stay here and protect the medics until evac arrives!" Itami ordered in an authoritative tone, something he rarely uses.

"Ryokai! Third Squad on me!" Furuta commanded with a wave of an arm.

His squad of mostly rookies complied to the order and fell back, grouping up around the medical team as they impatiently wait for the evac helicopters to come.

"Uh, Sergeant, when are the helos suppose to come?" Asked a young Leading Private Okawa nervously.

The sergeant remained silent for a moment, knowing well that some of his men were already on the verge of collapsing.

"Soon." He replied coldly.

* * *

Back on FOB "Goodwing", the Rangers and Force Recon Marines had been fighting non-stop since the second attack.

Having recently learned that the U.S Army convoy of 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment is under attack by heavy enemy fire and now held up at a square just a few klicks away, thus delaying their support for the Rangers.

This meant that they have to fight harder and longer if they want to succeed in the mission.

The ground rocked after a powerful explosion erupted, a plume of smoke and dust forming up to the right side of the building.

"Ah shit! They've breached through the wall!" Rookie yelled before throwing a frag grenade on the street.

A combat medic was on the same rooftop, currently nursing an injured Ranger, screaming in agony.

"Roach and Coal, regroup on Rookie and do not let them get through!" Renamon ordered sternly.

A long wound was on the side of her skull scraping just below her right ear. Blood tainted her already dirty yellow fur but she didn't care at the moment, if it wasn't urgent she can live through the pain.

Like her men, she was exhausted, sweating and very pissed off. Not only her lungs – which were far greater than that of a human's – were burning in exhaustion, she was pissed at the enemy for just trying to get through them. She pulled the rifle's bolt back and pushed it forward, chambering a 7.62mm round. She took aim, her icy blue right eye focused behind the scope despite projectiles hissing near her. The scope's crosshair centered at a black coloured Greymon. The black dinosaur took a couple of hits but was over all still fine. She aimed for the Greymon's neck, breathed in, held her lungs and pulled the trigger. The rifle knocked into her shoulder, a bright flash shot out of the muzzle.

Her gaze still maintained on the Greymon, the dinosaur flinched backwards, stumbling on their massive feet before falling with a loud thud. The relatively small bullet pierced their scales and destroyed their windpipe, now a mess of blood and gore. They flayed around, gasping for air while choking in their own blood. Two rounds struck them to the chest, ending their life swiftly.

A pyramid formation of black and white PawnChessmon made their progress through the square with squads of Troopmon and Sealsdramon taking cover behind them, firing back a the Rangers.

"Get the Javelin up!" A Ranger Staff Sergeant yelled behind her.

Two Rangers ran up to the rooftop, one shouldered the fierce and heavy FGM-148 Javelin. The elite soldiers sat down and aimed the launcher at the pyramid formation. One of the Rangers peered into the launcher, made a few swift adjustments and yelled:

"Fire in the hole! Fire in the hole!"

Everyone on the rooftop ducked their heads before the launcher fired. The missile shot upwards before plummeting down behind the PawnChessmon formation and onto the Troopmon and Sealsdramon.

A loud explosion erupted violently, causing the ground to shake violently while a powerful shockwave sent out dust and ash around the epicenter. Very few digimon survived the devastating blast. A couple of the small chess-like soldiers lied on the ground, screaming in agony with missing limbs, spilled out guts or their armour melted to them. Their screams were a painful reminder to Renamon of the horrors of war, something she was exposed to frequently. She winced inwardly at the bloody sight and refocused back on eliminating the enemy.

Her hawk-like gaze spotted two Darkdramon diving for the Airborne sniper team. She quickly grabbed the anti-material rifle. The heavy sniper rifle rested on the small wall of the roof, its barrel pointed at the two cyborg digimon. With accurate calculations and perfect timing, she fired one shot, the powerful rifle roared furiously, kicking up dust around it. The large bullet struck one Darkdramon to their shoulder, sparks and blood bursted out of them before they fell to the ground helplessly. The other one hovered in place in shock. They turned to face Renamon, a savage glare directed to her. However that gave enough seconds to fire the second shot at the still hovering enemy. The round penetrated their armour and through their flesh and bones before shooting out of the other side. Darkdramon was pushed backwards by the stopping power of the fifty caliber bullet. Severely wounded and profusely bleeding, they let out a snarl of defiance and charged towards Renamon. The calm vulpine digimon readjusted her aim and fired the third shot. The round punched through their lightly armoured waist. This time the Darkdramon lost consciousness and fell to their death.

 _"Thanks, Spartan 2, we almost got fried by these two!"_ The paratrooper team leader said gratefully.

"Don't mention it, Charlie 6," Renamon replied through her headset with a small smile.

"Hostile Mobile Artillery! Three hundred meters, our two o'clock, right street!" Reported urgently Sergeant Simon Graves.

Renamon changed position and hurried over next to the Sergeant with the heavy M82A3 in hand. She propped the sniper up and aimed at the tall and intimidating mechanical digimon. It was a Mugendramon, the bane of human military; one of them is enough to obliterate the FOB to smitherings. They had to act quick and violently if they want it down fast.

"We need a Javelin up!" She demanded the Rangers, "Charlie 6, I need air support on that Mugendramon quickly!"

 _"The tall robot with cannons?"_ The paratrooper asked unsurely, not knowing well which digimon she meant.

"Yes!"

 _"R-right! We'll try our best."_

Two Rangers behind her prepared their missile launcher, their weapon set on the intended target. The kitsune digimon shouldered the sniper rifle and peered into the scope. The massive digimon walked slowly, each footfall sent a light tremor to the ground. Hot steam hissed out of their nostrils and large maws.

"Hold your fire, Rangers." She instructed coolly. The two elite soldiers stared at her dumbfounded.

"What?" One of them asked.

"Whatever it is you're trying to do, Staff Sergeant, make it quick." Graves urged her with concern in his voice.

"No pressure..." She commented under her breath.

She knew she couldn't take out the Mugendramon with a single hit, but she can disarm it if air support didn't come to help.

The anti-material rifle roared, dust kicked up around her. The bullet went through the digimon's armour but inflicted minor damage. The Mugendramon stopped on their track and roared at Renamon to intimidate her. Their cannons lifted up from their back and rested on their shoulders, powerful energey build-up in the cannons.

"Blast this..." She said with sadistic grin.

The rifle kicked back as it spits out the powerful projectile. It flew across the street in the blink of an eye and struck through one of the Mugen Cannons. The cannon released a squeal before it exploded brightly on Mugendramon's back. The energetic blast swallowed a whole platoon worth of Imperial troops who were unfortunate to stand near Mugendramon.

Severely damaged but not destroyed, Mugendramon furiously roared, their empty eye sockets glaring at Renamon.

"Fire the Javelin now!" She ordered loudly.

The Rangers wasted no time to arm the launcher, "Fire in the hole! Fire in the hole!"

A distinct 'whump' came out of the launcher before the missile flew straightly upward. The Rangers maintained the target designation on the Mugendramon, the missile now descending at full speed on top of the digimon. It pounded the tall cyborg to the ground before igniting and exploded spectacularly. Added with the remains of energy in the Mugen Cannon, the explosion was twice stronger than expected, shaking the earth and shattering windows, some buildings even fell due to the powerful shockwave.

Seconds later, the ear-shattering "boom" rang painfully in the area. Renamon had to cover her sensitive ears on instinct, swearing as pain shot through them.

Ironically, it seemed to have halted momentarily the fighting. Men and digimon were completely in shock after the explosion, some had their ears going deaf for several long seconds, some were permanent.

"Aaah... Fuck!" She cussed for the fourth time, the eerie ringing of bells in her ears was still in there.

"Ow... my precious ears..." She faintly heard Graves said next to her.

"Is everyone all right?" She asked loudly, wincing at the painful sound of her own voice.

"Y-yeah! I think so!" Roach replied hesitantly.

"WHAT?" A Ranger yelled in response.

"Shit, Tucker's deaf..." Another Ranger explained dreadfully.

* * *

Moments ago they just felt a strong shockwave coming from the distance. Looking up, Raymond stopped and noticed a large smoke cloud rising up to the sky.

 _"At least now we know where_ that _came from."_ He thought inwardly.

 _"Alpha-Actual! This is Echo 2, where the hell are you?"_ His headset blared into his ears.

"We're coming just around the corner. Do not fire to your south-west, over." He informed quickly, "Let's hustle, Marines! Paratroopers are waiting for us!"

The Marines rushed towards their objective, the sound of an intense firefight indicated them that they were close.

Off to the right of the road was the commercial centre, built around the Shibayama metro. The commercial centre was a pair of "L" shaped buildings connected to each other by three small bridges on the first floor. Between the buildings was the inner courtyard where the metro is located with two access points by stairways. Near the metro once stood the marble statue of a Blitzmon. Key word being "once" since the statue now laid in pieces and rubbles, bullet holes and burn marks peppered its support platform.

The tanks continued to roll on the road, their main turrets spinning at the enemy and pounding them with machine gun fire and tank shells.

APCs drove off the road and into the commercial centre where U.S paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division cheered in relief and started to assemble the wounded for evac. The Marines on the ground joined them into the fray, taking cover and fire back at the enemy located just at the adjacent block.

The Amtraks were being loaded with wounded soldiers with some JSDF soldiers lending a help to speed up the process.

An injured officer came up to Raymond, a tired but grateful smile on his dirty face. "I hope you didn't have to wait too long, captain-"

"Captain Thomas Graham, D company, 2nd Battalion. Glad to see a legend among us."

Raymond chuckled as he shook Graham's hand, "I'm no legend, just had a few bad lucks."

Three Black Hawk helicopters flew overhead of the commercial centre, their attention shifted back to the current situation.

"So what's the sitrep?" Raymond asked with a frown.

"For now, hostiles are slowly retreating, probably to regroup. I have snipers on the rooftops and piled up all the ammo and supplies we have in the metro." Graham stated coolly, clearing his throat after the report.

"Does it lead to anywhere?"

"Sadly no, the Imps have blown up the underground access."

"I guess that'll leave us with fortifying the FOB and evacuate the wounded." Raymond concluded, "Gunnery-Sergeant!"

"Yes, skipper?" Dukeman responded dutifully.

"I want four APCs to escort the Amtraks back to base."

"On it, captain!"

"What are your orders, captain?" Asked Sullivan beside him.

"For now, we will hold up here and maintain this position until we get orders from command to move on to the next phase." He instructed plainly. He brought up his M4A1 carbine and checked his magazines. "Think you can keep up with me, Lieutenant?" He asked with a playful grin.

"Not like I have any choice, captain." The executive officer replied ironically.

Raymond chuckled dryly after inserting a new mag in the carbine. They then joined the Marines into the fray, leaving behind a confused airborne captain.

"... Am I suppose to do something here?"

* * *

"Smoke out!"

A light 'pop' echoed from the courtyard before a purple smoke rose up to the sky. The sound of rotorblades slicing the air was getting closer as the Rangers prepared themselves to evacuate the wounded and get their supplies off the choppers.

They need to act fast and efficiently, hostile troops had been harrassing them all morning now and show no sign of quitting.

Staff Sergeant Eric Schmid took a large sip of water from his hydration pack. Things just spiralled downwards since the third attack. Hostile snipers were positioned at a couple of blocks away from the FOB; a lucky bullet struck Second Lieutenant Daniel Hofheimer to the chest, missed his heart by a few inches.

He painfully watched as the then platoon leader on a stretcher was being held up by two Rangers.

Dust kicked up around them, the first Black Hawk, Thunder 5, made its descent in the dangerous courtyard, projectiles hissed and buzzed by the black metal bird as the legionaires try to take it down.

The roar of the M82A3 rifle indicated that the Reconnaissance Marines were providing cover fire for the helicopter.

Schmid, now the new platoon leader, took deep breaths before he turned to the small group of tired but equally eager Rangers.

"Let's go! Go! Get the wounded in the chopper!" He bellowed at the top of his dry lungs.

The elite soldiers tucked their heads in as they struggled to approach the helicopter that was producing a small tornado of dust and dirt. One of the helicopter side gunner waved an arm at themselves in quick succession, signaling the Rangers to pick up their pace. The men carrying Hofheimer and Corporal Todd Sexton grunted with effort as they gently placed them in the helicopter's passenger compartment. They then hurried back to cover with Schmid giving a thumbs up to the pilots before they took off and flew back to base.

The other two Black Hawks circled around dangerously at low altitude, their side miniguns spitting out hot lead unrelentlessly.

The second helicopter, under cover fire from the third, made its quick descent. The gunners hurled out the medical supplies and various ammunation cases, which some Rangers picked up in a hurry, before they load in more wounded in the helicopter.

All of this happened while under intense enemy fire.

A projectile struck the entire windshield of the helicopter, luckily missing both the pilot and the co-pilot – whom remained completely calm as bullets fly in every direction.

 _"Crazy Night Stalkers,"_ Schmid thought but was glad nonetheless.

They gave a thumbs up and brought the helicopter up, the metal bird ascended back to the sky before it swirved and heads for the main base, dodging a rocket in the process. The third helicopter finally came down, empty hot bullet casings dropped on the heads of Rangers as it continously spewed out 7.62mm rounds at the surrounding enemy.

Schmid gasped in surprise as he felt a hot casing dropping in between his chest and grimy uniform. He quickly shoved his hand in it, grabbed it and tossed it sideways. That was one way to stay awake in a stressful situation.

"Come on! Get the ammo out and get the wounded in!" He shouted as the Blackhawk finally touched the ground.

The Rangers executed their tasks, hurrying to the LZ to grab the supplies while others carried the last wounded. The Black Hawk, after two intense and long minutes, finally hovered upwards while projectiles try to take it down.

An energy bolt hit the tail's rotorblade, black smoke coughed out of the tail with sparks flying as a couple of bullets hit the bird's body.

 _"Damn... we've been hit."_ The pilot announced coldly, _"Overlord, this is Thunder 7, we've been hit."_

 _"We can see that, Thunder 7, there's black smoke coming out of the tail. Can you make it back to base?"_

 _"Uh... Affirmative... just, uh, having a bit of complications but we should be all right..."_

It was obvious to anyone on the ground that the pilots were having a hard time to keep the transport helicopter stable in the air.

 _"Please don't make this another Black Hawk Down..."_ Schmid heard the co-pilot said half jokingly, half seriously.

 _"Nah... it seems fine, fam, just a little shaky..."_

From the rooftop, Renamon eyed the smoking Black Hawk with worry. She brought back her M40A5 sniper rifle, pushing the bolt back into its original place, a round chambered in and took aim at the targets on the streets, her eyes occasionally glanced at the helicopter.

Thunder 7 flew meters away from the LZ before it started to rock sideways. The pilots tried their best avoid being hit by enemy fire while stabilising the helicopter in the air. Hell hit the fans when it suddenly began to spin around uncontrollably. The inevitable was coming.

 _"Mayday, Mayday, Thunder 7's going down."_ The pilot reported calmly, _"Thunder 7's going down, I repeat, Thunder 7's going down."_

The soldiers watched helplessly as it spiralled downwards a couple of blocks ahead from their position. Black smoke danced around the helicopter as it made its crazy descent.

 _"We're going down,"_ The pilot repeated one last time, _"HOLD-"_ The line went dead as the helicopter violently crashed on to the ground, skidding forward while its rotorblade cut the road and breaking to pieces until it halted against a building. Another trail of black smoke rose to the air.

 _"We've got a Black Hawk down, we've got a Black Hawk down."_

* * *

 _Air Base Delta, IDDF HQ and Command Centre, Apollomon Valley._

Eversman watched anxiously at the monitors, the downed helicopter laid motionless on the ground, deep in enemy territory. He sighed in frustration and rubbed a hand through his greying short hair.

Other high ranking officers from different armies glanced at the still image of the crashed bird.

"Get me the nearest SOF units on the ground from the crash site," He instructed to a group of command staff members, "We need to secure the crash site before help arrives."

"We have a squad of Raiders near the crash site, sir," Reported a First Lieutenant, "Callsign Tombstone 4."

"Get me in touch with them." The lieutenant nodded and grabbed a radio, dialing in the squad's correspondent number. He handed the large green device to the Colonel. "Tombstone 4, this is Overlord, do you read me?"

 _"Overlord, this is Tombstone 4-Actual, receiving you five by five."_

"Tombstone, as you may have seen, we have a downed bird located near your AO. I want your team to secure the Charlie site until we send reinforcements and PJs on site. This is will be a hard mission but we cannot, _cannot,_ leave anyone behind. Is that clear?"

There was a small moment of silence before the Raider Marine squad leader replied: " _Loud and clear, Overlord, leave Charlie site to us."_

* * *

Gunnery Sergeant Jason "Ash" Burns ended the communication. He turned around and faced his squad. Four battle-hardened and grizzlied men stared at him with respect and attention, their hands firmly grasping their weapons.

"New mission, gents," He began lowly, "We have a crash site, two klicks ahead from our position, to secure and hold on to until reinforcements and an exfil team arrive. We do not know when but we will not leave a man behind, dead or alive. Are you all up for the challenge?"

"Oorah!" They all replied unanimously, with determination and eagerness clear in their voice.

"Then let's move out, Tombstone!" He ordered sternly before they silently went out of cover and to their new objective point.


	36. Chapter 35

Chapter 35:

Dragonslayer _(Part 2)_

"Hurry up! Let's go!"

The last wounded got in the Venom transport helicopter. Furuta gave a thumbs up at the side gunner, relaying the signal to the pilots to move out. The pilot turned around and gave an "Okay" sign.

The sergeant ran back to his squad and the group of combat medics as the helicopter ascended to the sky. The soldiers kept their heads down until the tornado of strong winds and dust was completely gone. Furuta kept his eyes on the flying helicopter until it was out of his sight.

"Right, chopper's gone, let's move out and regroup with the unit," Master Sergeant Kuribayashi instructed firmly.

"You heard her, get moving," Furuta added since his men hesistated at first.

The squad moved out in a single line, their heads shifting sideways as they examined cautiously their surroundings. Loud 'thumps' resonated from the distance, some of the men nervously gazed at the sky, some were starting to breathe rapidly. Furuta felt a bit bad for them but they signed up for this. For now, they need to focus on regrouping with the rest of their unit.

Farther ahead they spotted three tan AAVs speeding though the street.

"Why are they going back?" A Private first class asked confusely.

"Medical evac, what else?" Kuribayashi responded harshly, "We're almost there,"

* * *

"INCOM-"

A large explosion erupted behind the squad, three Marines were flung to the ground, screams from the victims rang loudly with the sound of gunfire and tanks shelling enemy position.

"Medic! Medic!"

"We're getting hammered by those artilleries!" Reported Sullivan behind his cover.

"I'm calling CAS, pass me the PLD!" Raymond shouted back.

The XO tossed at him the square, olive green device. While Raymond was relaying the coordinates to close air support, Sullivan got to his stomach and crawled back to another cover while bullets were hissing angrily by him.

Safely behind the building and next to Raymond, he inspected his M4A1 carbine. It was still in good shape despite the beating it took along with the amount of bullet it spewed out. He recounts his magazines on his plate carrier; three left with two more for his sidearm.

"CAS is indound on those Cannondramon," Raymond said before glancing at the XO, "You all right?"

"Affirmative, skipper," Sullivan replied bluntly, "I've got three mags left," He added.

"Supply drops should come in five more minutes," Raymond replied before he turned around and tapped the lieutenant's helmet, "Come with me,"

On command, he followed the captain to the first floor of the commercial centre where two machine gun squads were being set up. Ammo boxes and spent casings littered the floor, the smell of gun powder still fresh and strong as they went up the stairs. The paratroopers gave them quick nods before resuming on their tasks.

"Here," Raymond handed back to him his PLD, "I need you to-" A harsh sensation caught up in his throat, forcing him to cough roughly, "-to laser target while I'll direct CAS,"

Peering into the tactical laser designator, Sullivan could see a large wave of Imperial troops massing up in front of the artillery unit, preparing an attack at the other side of the highway, just a few hundred meters away from their position.

He flipped on the laser, invisible to the naked eye. The screen displayed the target's distance: four hundred meters. From above, the sound of jets flying drew closer to their position, air support was coming in and it will strike hard and fast.

"CAS 4-0, we have target location lased for air strike, over," Raymond reported to the squadron of F-35B Lighting II.

 _"Copy that, laser spotted, sending packages in ten seconds,"_ Announced neutrally the squadron leader.

From his point of view, sparks and smoke ignited on enemy ground, blood spilled on the street and cries of pain could be heard faintly in the distance; distinct 'whirs' echoed furiously from the heavens. Then a bright flash appeared for a split second before everything was envelopped in a large smoke cloud.

A resounding 'boom' was felt from across the street, the blast's shockwave sending out dust and ash around the centre. Marines and paratroopers roared and cheered in delight at the sight of three, speeding, stealth jets above their heads.

"Good kill, good kill, enemy artillery eliminated," Raymond reported, observing the end result of the successful air strike, a lone mushroom cloud now rose to the air, raining down ash and data.

Sullivan spared a peep at his dust covered wristwatch; it was almost noon, and as if commanded by the gods, the firefights quieted down, losing in intensity as the Imperials retreated, a line was clearly drawn on the city map. Friendly forces were now able to regroup, rearm and link up with each other.

That being said, that was only the first step in taking the city; now the next phase is to hold ground before launching the second offensive.

* * *

An eerie silence stood in the air. A couple of gunshots echoed across the city but nothing equal to a full fledge firefight.

Renamon slumped her rear on the rooftop, letting out an exhausted sigh from her dry mouth. She took a small tube from her plate carrier and dragged it to her mouth. She sucked into the tube, eagerly drinking the fresh water from her camelbak.

While drinking, she silently inspected the condition on the rooftop. Empty brass casings and grenade shells littered the dusty flat surface. Blood stains dotted the ground in various sizes and shapes, dried ammo boxes were thrown on some corners of the rooftop.

The Rangers volunteered and insisted that the Force Recon Marines to take a small break to recuperate. A handful of the elite soldiers were on watch while some rested, their backs against the small wall, panting heavily.

Their ACUPAT uniform were covered in dust and grime, giving their urban camouflage a lighter tan shade. They were all tired, thirsty, and for some, hungry. Her men were in the same shape: beaten, tired but also relieved to fight another day.

A car horn abruptly broke their silence. Looking over the roof, Renamon watched with relief as the convoy finally arrived. Like their soldiers, the vehicles were severely damaged and covered in dents and holes. Somehow the convoy was still at full strenght, all transport trucks, APCs and IFVs were there from the start, a feat that mildly impressed Renamon.

The Rangers and U.S soldiers unloaded the supply crates and equipments to start buidling their Forward Operating Base.

Roach blew out a smoke cloud from his mouth before putting the cigarette back between his lips and suck in a light dose of nicotine. The Recon Marines and the airborne sniper team were back on sniper overwatch duty.

Renamon ordered her Marines for an inventory count.

"Four and one smoke left for the GL and still have two more mags for the M4." Rookie reported.

"I've got a frag, two green smokes, two mags for the carbine, four mags for my sidearm and one mag for the DMR." Coal said with mild annoyance.

"Three for the DMR, two more for the M4, four for the M45 and two frags." Graves stated plainly.

"I'm on my last mag for the sniper rifle, my primary, three for my secondary and two flashbangs." Roach claimed after throwing away his smoke.

"Two more for the fifty cal, two for the sniper rifle, four for the carbine and two for the sidearm." Renamon finally reported in, "We're pretty low on ammo, I see," She concluded with an irritated tone.

"Want me to grab some for us, Staff Sergeant?" Graves suggested, already on his feet and ready to move.

"Go with Rookie, find him more H.E shells and grab some extras if you can." She instructed before the two Marine operators went down the stairs.

"Do we have any word from LT?" Roach asked curiously.

"Negative, still can't reach him yet." Renamon replied truthfully.

From behind, they heard men grunting and complaining as they went up the stairs. Taking a peek behind her, she saw a group of Rangers carrying pieces of a M2 Browning, ammunation boxes and sandbags.

She silently watched them set up the heavy equipment at a spot on the rooftop and started to build up an HMG emplacement.

"I hope they're alright," She heard Roach muttered.

"Of course they're fine, we're Force Recon," Renamon responded confidently.

Roach smirked, "You sure know how to bring morale up, glad to have you in the platoon."

Renamon smiled knowingly and patted Roach's combat helmet.

* * *

"Ready?" Burns asked quietly to Sergeant "Archer", the unit's youngest but fastest operator. The young man stoically nodded. "Cover fire," Burns ordered quietly just before the man sprinted out of cover.

The unit overwatched their perimeter. They were at the crash site, the helicopter just thirty meters away from their building.

Archer slid close to the crashed metal bird. The site was strangely quiet and they knew they were behind enemy lines. Cautiously and silently making his way to the cockpit, Archer lifted his carbine and turned on the flashlight, letting shine down in the cockpit, searching for survivors.

Unfortunately, everyone died in the crash, the pilots, their crew members and the two wounded Rangers, all lied lifelessly in the tilted and damaged helicopter.

Archer poked his head out and shook his right hand horizontally next to his throat. He muttered a small prayer to the dead before standing by to regroup with the unit. Ash gave him a firm nod, signal clear, he can move.

The operator quickly ran back to his unit. The operators stepped aside as Archer ran straight through the door before halting dead on his track.

"Overlord, this is Tombstone 4-Actual, we've inspected the bird, there are no survivors, I repeat, no survivors in the bird. How copy? Over." Burns reported coldly.

 _"10-4, 4-Actual, maintain overwatch on the bird, we're sending two squads of Force Recons to the AO for additional support, Paras will be there to extract the bodies in twenty mikes."_ Instructed autonomously the radio operator from command.

"Copy, Tombstone will hold position until body extraction, over and out."

"What's the game plan, boss?" Asked Staff Sergeant "Red", his hands still firm on the MK48 light machine gun.

"We hold position until PJs arrive to extract the bodies; we will also have a helping hand from Force Recon." Burns told his men bluntly.

"Awesome, more Marines on the way," Commented Staff Sergeant "Snafu" with a wide grin.

"And how long should we wait until CSAR arrives?" Asked curiously Sergeant Shepard, not taking his eyes off the Black hawk.

"Twenty mikes, normally." Ash answered before they all heard tank treads from across the crossroad along with foreign voices, "Looks like our neighbours are here to inspect the bird."

The Marine Raiders shouldered their weapons and took firing positions, their fingers ready to ignite hell on the enemy.

"Bring it on..." Archer whispered eagerly, his right eye peering into the ACOG of his SCAR-H battle rifle.

"Overlord, we have a group of hostiles with armour progressing towards the site, what's the ROE?" Ash demanded through his headset.

 _"Tombstone, you may engage hostiles at will, do not let them get near or destroy the bird."_

"Copy, Tombstone will maintain radio silence until we need CAS, over and out."

* * *

The wooden doors blasted open, sending out pieces in the hall while British soldiers rushed in with guns up and ready to shoot. Rounds started to fly as the British riflemen spotted a handful of Imperials, eliminating the threat in less than a few minutes.

"Squad two, clear the corridors! Squad one, secure the hall!" The platoon leader ordered sternly.

The infantrymen of First Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, scouted out for the enemy, clearing door after door.

Walking in the building behind the Fusiliers were Magnamon and Duftmon, quietly observing their activity. The platoon leader turned around to face them; the Lieutenant was covered in grime, dust and blood due to heavy fightings prior their arrival in the enemy command post.

"We're starting to clear the command post, Royal Knights, their commander might be further in the building, I'll be sending Squad two as additional support." He informed them while indicating at the corridor.

"That won't be-"

"Thank you, Lieutenant, some helping hands could be beneficial to us," Magnamon diplomatically interrupted Duftmon.

"We'll be joining you shortly, good luck out there." The platoon leader said before walking outside the building to call in more men.

"That wasn't necessary, Magnamon." Duftmon said to the golden knight with annoyance in his voice.

"I know, but you tend to be impolite when we're offered a hand." Magnamon explained sheepishly.

"We're Royal Knights, we do not need their help," Duftmon shot back with a condescending tone as they began to walk down the corridor, "There'll be more bloodshed if they come with us."

"Maybe, but they can give us an edge against the enemy, they're smaller in size and pack a punch." Magnamon responded matter-of-factly, "But still, you don't have to be an asshole about it."

Duftmon looked at the knight of Miracle with wide eyes, it was the first time he acted in such a rude way, even towards him. Before he could reply, a sergeant stood at their attention.

"Sergeant Todd, Squad Two is reporting for duty," The squad leader stated with a quick salute, "It is an honour to fight with you, Royal Knights."

"We're glad to have you with us, Sergeant," Magnamon replied with a quick salute, "You may lead the way."

"Alright, Squad two, move out and keep your eyes open, check the corners and double check the shadows!"

The men nodded and silently moved forward with their weapons slightly tilted downwards to avoid any friendly fire incidents. Venturing further in the building, they came across a wide open room. The squad carefully looked around the room, eyeing each detail in the hallway.

The squad leader rose his left fist and pointed two fingers ahead, waving them forward. On silent command, the fusiliers spreaded out, searching for any potential enemy while the two Royal Knights quietly walked to the middle of the room.

"It seems to be clear..." Magnamon stated, though with a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

Looking around, the room had three different corridors branching out on the sides and one that kept going forward in the building. From the movements and hand signals from the humans, Duftmon concluded that the room was cleared.

A light metallic thud caught his attention behind him. Turning around, he barely caught sight of a rolling hand grenade, just near Magnamon's feet.

"FRAG!" A soldier yelled the second after.

Duftmon quickly grabbed Magnamon's arm and shoved the both of them on the ground and as far as possible from the blast site. The explosive shook the room, eerie bells rung inside the tactician's ears.

Red and green tracers flew in every direction, fusiliers and legionaires fired at each other relentlessly. Caught in the crossfire, Duftmon moved himself in front of Magnamon and lifted his forearms up, deflecting incoming rounds and shielding his fellow knight.

"Are you all right?" He asked almost concernly.

"Yeah!" Magnamon replied vigorously, standing up behind the leopard knight.

"Then get to work!" Duftmon gruffly demanded as a round scraped the side of his helmet.

"Gotcha!" The golden knight vaulted over Duftmon's figure, taking in his turn the brunt of incoming rounds, "Magna Blast!" Anti-personnel missiles shot out from his shoulder pads.

Each projectile struck its target before detonating and exploding, taking two or three more legionaires around them.

Rushing out of the smoke cloud, more imperial troops poured in the room. A Knightmon furiously charged at Magnamon, their claymore poised to cleave the Royal Knight in two. The digimon fully clad in armour let out a battle-cry while swinging the sword downwards. Magnamon rolled to the right, just in time to have the massive blade striking down the stone layered ground. Cracks erupted around the blade's impact.

Duftmon summoned his rapier and thrusted it forward, penetrating Knightmon's chestplate with ease. He pulled it out and swiftly swung the thin but sharp blade diagonally upwards, cutting from the lower torso up to the shoulder blade. Knightmon hissed in pain and staggered back, the hole on his chestplate bled out profusely.

"Magna punch!"

Magnamon's powerful fist crushed the knight's armour and ribcages. Blood spat out of his helmet before he was sent flying backwards.

"Cease fire! Cease fire!" The sergeant commanded loudly.

Walking out of cover, the fusiliers set up a perimeter around the Royal Knights and the squad leader. "You guys all right?" He asked informally.

"Fine, sergeant," Magnamon answered with a thumbs up. Duftmon simply hummed in response.

"Casualty report!"

"Mann's gone, sergeant," A soldier grimly stated, "Bullet blew his brains out just next to me," He added while pointing at the corpse near the squad. Magnamon shivered at the gory sight.

"Pierson's fucked up but he can live," Another soldier added to the report.

"Fuck yeah I can live!" The wounded replied painfully, "O-ow..."

"Right, James, Collins, and Townsend, you stay with me, the rest of you bring the lads back to the platoon and regroup with them. Is that clear?"

"Yes sergeant!"

"Ready to go on your signal, Royal Knights," The squad leader stated dutifully, despite the condition of his men and himself, tired, hungry and beaten.

"I'll lead the way this time," Magnamon proposed, with Duftmon nodding in agreement.

While the two Royal Knights at the lead walked casually in the corridor, the British soldiers held their rifles slightly upwards, ready to fire at a moment's notice.

"Where the hell are we going?" A soldier whispered worriedly.

"Searching for the HVT, so shut up, private." Sergeant Todd dryly responded.

The group reached the end of the corridor, a metal door stood in front of them, the command room perhaps.

"Stay behind me," The knight of Miracles instructed.

The fire-team did as ordered, they stepped back and took a firing stance, weapons up to provide suppressive fire. Duftmon stood behind the fire-team while Magnamon calmly walked up to the door. He breathed in slowly before violently kicking the door in, shooting it inward like a lethal projectile.

"Go! Go!" Todd ordered the fire-team as they rushed in the room.

The room was fairly small with a couple of desks and tables here and there. On the furnitures were various stacks of paper and documents, radios, computers and maps displayed on the walls and on the holographic board.

From the state of the room, it seemed as the occupants left in a hurry.

"Room's clear!" The sergeant reported as the Royal Knights walked in.

"Damn, this site is a bust," Duftmon commented with irritation, "Romeo Kilo 1, this is Romeo Kilo 4, site Omega 5 is a bust, over." He reported to Alphamon.

 _"Copy - *static* -Mega 8 is empty, same for Omega 1, 4 and 9, over."_

"Now what?" Magnamon demanded impatiently, hearing the start of another firefight in the distance, the enemy is launching their counter-offensive.

"We'll try to regroup with another task force," Duftmon suggested plainly.

 _"RK 4, this is RK 4-2! We've got eyes on HVT, heading West towards a crash site, three hundred meters away, we're on hot pursuit – shit! Hostile-"_ White static noise came after the urgent report.

"We need to move fast!" Magnamon said before sprinting out of the building with Duftmon just behind him.

Todd and his men simply stared at them with confusion and bewilderment.

* * *

Back at FOB "Goodwing", the Rangers and Renamon's team had been called to aid the Raiders at the crash site.

The platoon of Rangers gathered around Staff Sergeant Schmid with the Force Recon Marines waiting beside the Rangers.

"Listen up! Command wants us to aid friendlies with additional firepower so that we can buy some time for the CSAR team to evac the wounded and the body bags. We'll move with Force Recon with a convoy of five vehicles, including a Bradley and a Stryker to provide us with heavy firepower. We have a klick road to do in enemy territory. Helos should arrive in thirty mikes so we're on limited time gents. Hooah?"

"HOOAH!" The Rangers replied in unison.

"First squad, you'll take the lead M-ATV, Staff Sergeant Renamon, I suggest you take the second vehicle."

"Copy that," Renamon responded briefly before her team followed her to the second M-ATV.

"I call dibs on the fifty!" One of the Force Recon Marines chimed happily.

"Tombstone, this is Chalk 2, we're Oscar-Mike to the crash site, we're coming in with a Bradley, a Stryker and three MRAPs, ETA five minutes, how copy? Over."

 _"Solid copy, Chalk 2, glad to have the Rangers nearby, just don't be too late for the party."_

"Roger that, Tombstone, Chalk 2 moving out. Over and Out."

The vehicles roared to life, the lead M-ATV off the courtyard and onto the ruined paved street, followed by the rest of the small convoy.

Meanwhile at the crash site, CSAR arrived in the heat of the firefight, the pilots barely dodged incoming rockets and missiles before they got away ina hurry. The team of Pararescuemen ran to the squad of MARSOC operators, unable to get to the downed bird in the crossfire.

Minutes later, the platoon of Force Recon arrived from the North, able to cut the enemy wave in half, but even then, it wasn't enough to halt the counter-offensive.

"INCOMING!" Red yelled before he and two Parajumpers dived for the ground.

A rocket shot through the window and across the room and corridor before exploding in the other room.

"You guys all right up there?" Burns asked loudly.

"YEAH!" One of the Air Force operators replied shortly after.

"They just keep coming!" Shouted Snafu with frustration.

"No shit, Snafu! We're in their home turf!" Archer pointed out angrily.

"Come on, men, look alive stay alive! Reinforcements will be here soon!" Burns encouraged his teammates while reloading his rifle.

Enemy infantrymen fought hard with an iron will, charging straight into a storm of bullets to advance a meter ahead. Digimon troops ran in a suicidal charge only to be mercilessly gunned down by the Air and Marine operators.

However, the team can hold their ground only as long as they have the ammo for the job; and they're quickly running out of it. Low on manpower and on supplies, these men will soon fight with their knives and bare hands.

"ENEMY TANK! LEFT STREET, 250 METERS!" Archer yelled urgently.

"Red, take it out with the LMG! Shepard, use the 203 on it! We'll provide suppressive fire!" Ash commanded loudly, "Open fire!"

On command, the mixed unit got up from cover and let loose a volley of bullets at the Tankmon, forcing the mechanised digimon to take cover and to fall back, their armour couldn't hold much longer against small arms fire.

At the same time, Red fired precise bursts at the Tankmon, aiming for their weak and exposed chest. Shepard rained H.E shells down on the targeted digimon, the explosives pounding their armour and burning some of their flesh.

"It's rolling away! Keep pressure on it!" Burns ordered through the loud cracks of their weapons.

"Frag out!" A Pararescueman lobbed a grenade out from the first floor.

The hand grenade detonated and blasted away a squad of legionaires away from the helicopter.

 _"Tombstone, this is Chalk 2, we're inbound to your West, twenty seconds!"_

"Friendlies to the West! Watch your fire!"

Shortly after, a low roar of a 30mm gun sent shivers down Burns's back with a grin gracing his dirty and sweaty face. He heard Red laughing estatically at the sight of the Stryker M1126 ICV, armed to the teeth with a MK44 Bushmaster II chain gun and two M240 medium machine guns.

Coming up next were the MRAPs, spitting out fifty caliber rounds at the enemy along with the M2A3 Bradley's M242 25mm chain gun; a small package that can give quite the punch to the enemy force.

Caught with their pants down and with their right flank exposed, the legionaires were quickly crushed by the sudden shift of firepower, retreating with whatever troops that have left and leaving their whole battalion in disarray and confusion.

"All right PJs, do your work," Snafu told them with a sly grin.

"Yeah, thanks for covering our asses, I'll get you guys some drinks later, 'kay?" The CSAR team leader responded loudly before they got in the downed BlackHawk.

Burns chuckled and shook his head. Walking out of the building, he made his way towards the convoy, Rangers were dismounting the Bradley and Stryker and set up a defensive perimeter. One Ranger was calmly talking with a bipedal fox creature wearing a plate carrier and holding a M40A5 sniper rifle.

"You must be the Chalk leader," Burns assumed with a hint of uncertainty to the Ranger.

"Yes sir, Staff Sergeant Schmid," The senior NCO introduced himself while holding his right hand out.

"Gunnery Sergeant Burns," He replied with a friendly smile as he shook the man's hand. He then faced the digimon with a raised eyebrow, "And you must be-"

"Staff Sergeant Renamon, Force Recon, second-in-command of Lieutenant Colbert." Renamon answered formally.

"- A pleasure to finally meet you, Staff Sergeant." Burns said sincerely, having heard of the Digital Marines and some of their "unique" members.

"If you don't mind, Burns, but I'll set my squad at a sniper position, got any suggestions?" Renamon demanded politely and with a respectful tone.

"Uh sure, there's a condo over there," Burns responded while pointing at a tall and half destroyed building, "It should provide your guys an all clear view on the site and even beyond."

"Thank you. Schmid, I'll be on my way, good luck," She stated sincerely before vanishing from sight, startling both NCOs on the spot.

"You knew she could-" Burns began to speak only to be interrupted by a Ranger yelling urgently.

"HOSTILE SPOTTED! TWO HUNDRED METERS SOUTH STREET!"

The soldiers on the ground quickly got to cover and into formation, the Bradley's main weapon spun around and aimed at the direction. Burns and Schmid ran behind the APC, surveying the designated area. Through his scope, Burns can see two aerial digimon coming towards them at high speeds.

"Get ready to shoot!" Schmid instructed loudly.

"Who are we going to shoot, Staff Sergeant?" A Ranger asked unsurely.

"They could be friendly," Burns pointed out with dread.

"Just fire on my command!" The platoon leader ordered.

At the front was a heavily armoured, red digimon armed with two multi-barrel autocannons while at the back the digimon was a tall but thin purple dragon in battle armour and a large spike tipped tail.

"SHOOT AT THE RED ONE!" The dragon finally shouted frantically.

"Red target! LIGHT HIM UP!"

The dragon pulled upwards avoiding the barrage of bullets, letting the digimon at the front taking the brunt of the attacks.

Blitzgreymon snarled in frustration and pain as the human light armoured vehicles pounded his armour.

"Elec Guard!" He shouted before plasma particles rippled out of him to create a temporary barrier around him.

He swiftly flew to the side, avoiding the group of human soldiers and disorienting them. He suddenly felt a powerful force halting in his tracks and making him stagger backwards. A much heavier armed vehicle appeared, its main gun hammering his armour like a warhammer.

Surrounded and losing time, Blitzgreymon needed to act fast if he wants to get away from the Royal Knights and stay alive to fight another day.

"That's it!" The red digimon growled, "PLASMA STAKE!" Lifting his electric-powered autocannons, high voltage bolts shot out of the barrels, cracking the air and punching through the Stryker and striking down any nearby soldiers, electrocuting them.

The Stryker exploded from within, creating a shockwave powerful enough to push anyone on the ground.

"Mach Flicker!" Arresterdramon swoop down on Blitzgreymon and delivered a strong uppercut, sending the large cyborg digimon off their feet before following the attack with a flurry of strong punches to the lower torso.

Recuperating from the last devastating attack, Burns checked on Schmid; the Staff Sergeant was lightly injured but fine. Burns saw his team getting into position to fire with Shepard readying the M72E9 LAW.

"Do not fire yet!" Burns ordered loudly, "Suppress him until you have a clear window!"

"Got it, Gunney!" Shepard yelled back.

Red, Archer and Snafu got into position, so were the Rangers and Recon Marines on the buildings' rooftops. Renamon had the Barrett locked and loaded, the scope aimed for Blitzgreymon's head.

Arresterdramon dodged a swift strike from his opponent and swung his body around, his Tail Anchor slicing Blitzgreymon's lower abdomen and left thigh, drawing out blood on the ground.

His opponent snarled in pain and anger. He lunged his head forward, sending a painful headbutt against the dragon's snout. The dragon let out a cry of agony, the powerful hit almost broke his muzzle to pieces, and staggered back. Blitzgreymon performed a roundhouse kick, sending his aggressor farther back and inflicting more pain to his face.

The Mega-level dragon coughed out blood and smirked on the side.

A loud roar resonated from above before something punched Blitzgreymon's helmet. He felt a hot stinging and crushing pain in his muzzle, the back metallic taste of blood in his throat urged him to spit it out on the ground.

Looking around his eyes grew wide as the humans were already in place to fire at him. One of them were on one knee and lifted what looked like a small rocket launcher.

"Clear backblast!" Shepard yelled before he pulled the trigger.

The LAW let out a loud 'thump', shooting out an improved 66mm rocket straight for Blitzgreymon's chest. The anti-tank munition penetrated its target's armour and chest and exploded shortly after. Its victim cried in pain as shrapnel and intense heat tore through his body.

Blitzgreymon's eyes rolled backwards before the robotic digimon crashed on the ground, barely alive as a pool of blood expanded out of his chest. Data particles soon started to fly away from his body.

"Target's down," Shepard stated with a tired sigh.

"4-Leader, this is 4-3, HVT's eliminated. Over." Arresterdramon reported before he faced Staff Sergeant Schmid, whom had a frown on his face.

"What unit are you from?" He inquired inquisitively.

The tall bipedal dragon stood straightly and saluted the human, "Corporal Arresterdramon, Royal Knight Task Force 4, reporting for duty, sir!" He stated formally.

"At ease, corporal," Schmid replied with a salute, "Who's your commander?"

"He's right behind you, sir." The digimon answered with a nudge from his head.

Turning around, two armour clad digimon landed on the crash site, causing some of the Rangers to act nervously, not knowing the Royal Knights very well. With a confident hand signal, the Staff Sergeant ordered them to stand down.

"Nice work, Corporal," Stated neutrally Duftmon while eyeing the disappearing corpse of Blitzgreymon, "However, where's the rest of your squad?" He demanded coldly.

"On their way, sir," The corporal answered truthfully, "Sergeant told me to get after the HVT,"

"Um... sorry that we've arrived here without a heads-up, Staff Sergeant," Magnamon said sheepishly to Schmid.

"You should thank them, sir Magnamon," Spoke up Arresterdramon, ignoring Duftmon's sideway leer, "Without them, I probably wouldn't be here standing." He admitted with a respectful nod to the Rangers and Raiders.

Both Royal Knights gazed at the concerning human, whom merely shrugged in response, "We're just doing our jobs,"

"Corporal, I want you to find your squad and reassemble them here, I have a feeling that the Imperials will be coming soon." The digimon nodded and flew away, searching for their squadmates. "You humans better get prepared for the upcoming wave," Duftmon said coldly.

"We're Rangers, sir, we're always ready," Schmid shot back confidently as he heard his men getting ready for the fight.

* * *

Night came down on the city and there's no end in sight of the fightings. Throughout the whole day, the humans and digimon fought hard and bitterly to gain or hold control over conquered territory in the vast Imperial city.

Close air support kept on hammering enemy positions while medevacs had been called over all over the city every minute, all day long. Artillery barrages destroyed large parts of the city, leaving behind only death, destruction and debris.

Though now most of the civilian population had evacuated the city, there were still pockets of unfortunate ones roaming the chaotic streets of Tokū Solis in search for a shelter or a refuge from the war.

From the mall's rooftop, Guilmon observed the area through a pair of binoculars, watching with a mixture of awe and dread as the air force bombarded the enemy line, bright flashes of light frequently pop up over the city.

Thanks to a generous supply drop, the Marines and Paratroopers were able to fully fortify their FOB, sandbag walls had been set on the rooftops with HMG and Mortar stations built on top.

It has been an hour since the last enemy wave and like the previous others, they were pulverised by the humans' capability to lash out an incredible volume of firepower on short notice.

Though Guilmon was glad and honoured to fight alongside the Marines, the grueling conflict has taken a toll on his psyche recently. He started to have a darker and bleaker vision of the world, to the point of dreading to wake up another day, knowing that he is still in a warzone and not at home in Tokyo with his family and friends.

Marines called it "Battle fatigue" or more formally "PTSD". The horrors of war have finally caught up to him and he hoped that he will overcome it soon once the war was over. He hoped that Renamon would as well.

"You okay there, Lance Corporal?" A familiar asked softly.

"Yes, Lieutenant, just a bit tired," The digimon answered sincerely. He heard Sparks chuckling before he stood next to him.

"You sound like it," Sparks joked lightly, "Did you at least eat? I know you tend to get hungry every hour,"

Guilmon smirked and nodded, "Yes, lieutenant, just ate a day's worth of MRE in an hour," He answered truthfully. Sparks laughed and pat Guilmon's back.

"I'm glad to have you in my platoon, Guilmon, but try to get some rest though," He suggested kindly.

"Will do, sir,"

A loud explosion disturbed the silence. Men abruptly shaken from their sleep quickly got up and gathered their equipment while others ran into position.

Guilmon quickly got in the HMG position and racked the turret's handle. A couple of Marines took cover behind the sandbag wall near him with Sparks surveying across the street. From below, he could hear soldiers and Marines running to cover without knowing if there was any danger ahead.

"Everyone keep quiet, do not open fire until I say so," Sparks ordered in a hushed tone.

Three, bright red flares popped out of the sky illuminating the streets. Creeping up the street in the hundreds were legionaires now discovered and in the open. Now caught, legionaires simply roared their battle cry and charged at the FOB.

"OPEN FIRE!" The platoon leader yelled.

In a second, thousands of angry flying, green tracers shot through the air, mowing down rows of imperial troops in short notice.

The M2 Browning barked the loudest. Each burst ended with one or two legionaires having their guts blown off and scattered on the ground, limbs ripped off or their chest perforated with a shower of blood.

Guilmon continued to lay down suppressive fire, slowing down the enemy advance and prioritizing enemy leaders. The turret suddenly jammed, hot vapor came out of the end of the barrel.

"Gun jam!" He warned before he racked the weapon once, then twice.

He opened the cover assembly and spotted a spent round still stucked in the feed and barrel at an odd angle. He delicately took the round and wiggled it out. He rearranged the belt feed correctly, slapped the cover assembly back in place and racked the weapon, hearing a round perfectly chambered.

"Gun up! Firing!"

Once again, the turret roared to life with ferocity, spitting out 12.7mm rounds at the enemy. The imperials kept on coming into the bloody fray, bodies fell and rivers of blood were formed while crawling wounded imperials cry in agony and for help. Projectiles flew and soared in every direction, both sides were taking casualties.

It was a devastating massacre on the Imperial side.

Fighting for five minutes straight, coalition forces came under artillery fire, launching smoke shells to cover the legionaires' advance along with heavy armour support. Coming to aid the FOB was a squadron of AH-64E Apaches, currently refuelling and rearming for the mission. Mortar teams rained down high explosive rounds on the enemy, large and small arms fire gunned down mercilessly the incoming wave of hostiles, the tanks and armoured vehicles pounded them with volleys and barrages of machine gun fire and shells.

From their position, the Marines on the rooftop were receiving more incoming rounds, some of their cover were blown away by enemy rockets, now taking the bulk of the attacks.

The turret's barrel hissed as it slowly turned red. Guilmon cursed as he tries to replace the heated barrel while under enemy fire.

"INCOMING!"

"HIT THE DECK!"

A large streak of light soared towards them. The Marines backed away from the sandbags, Guilmon ran out of the HMG emplacement. The energy projectile violently crashed and exploded against the building's façade.

The building trembled, a heat wave struck Guilmon's back as the shockwave shoved him on the ground. The digimon groaned in pain as he felt his scales being cooked by the sudden and intense heat.

"Guilmon!" He heard the lieutenant shout as rapid footsteps approached him.

He slowly stood up, feeling hands lifting him up before he felt the ground shake and gave in. A large part of the rooftop collapsed, both Guilmon and Sparks yelped as they were being swallowed up by the large hole.

With a loud crash, Guilmon hit his back hard on the floor, more pain shot through his whole body. Dust reached into his mouth causing him to cough dryly and harshly, his eyes watering due to the amount of pain he was subjected to.

"O-oh f-fuck..."

The dino digimon looked to the side and saw Sparks lying on the ground near him, blood seeped out of his mouth, his hands shook uncontrollably as he held onto the steel rod planted in his chest. He quickly got to his feet and crawled to his platoon leader.

"Lieutenant!"

Sparks groaned and cussed once more, unable to think correctly. He swallowed up saliva mixed with his own blood, feeling his body getting colder suddenly.

"G-god d-damn it..."

"Hang in there, lieutenant, I'll get some help," Guilmon reassured with worry in his voice, "Corpsman! Medic! Medic!" He shouted desperately.

He felt Sparks's shaky hand tugging on his shoulder. He faced him with worried eyes.

"M-morphine!"

"Stay with me, lieutenant! I'm getting you out of here!"

Lance Corporal Guilmon rummaged through his first aid kit and pulled out a syringe of morphine. He took the lid off and injected the needle in his right thigh. Sparks visibly relaxed a bit but he was bleeding out, losing a large amount of blood.

He took hold of the lieutenant's plate carrier and began to drag him away while calling out for help. Around him laid bodies of fallen soldiers, riddled with holes, dismembered or burnt and their skin and flesh melting away.

The heavy stench of burnt corpses assaulted his highly sensitive notrils, making his eyes water, cough and gag, his mind was going awry, his stomach twisted in multiple and constant knots, the adrenaline rush was being fed with stress and fear; he was close to lose his own mind.

"MEDIC!" He pratically roared.

The firefight was getting closer, the Imperials were probably on them now despite having the advantage.

"MEDIC!"

"Stay with me, lieutenant! Come on!"

Finally, a corpsman and a couple of paratroopers rushed towards him, the former's uniform already covered in blood.

"Did you give him morphine?" He asked quickly. Guilmon nodded vigorously, "Alright, lift him up carefully!" He ordered two paratroopers.

The men did as ordered, carefully lifting Sparks off the ground and carried him away. The corpsman turned to Guilmon, observing his wounds.

"You're coming with me, Lance Corporal," He said firmly.

"I'm fine, doc," The corpsman defensively lifted his hands up, backing away.

"If you say so, I'll see you around though," he told the digimon before running off to another direction.

Guilmon leaned next to the wall and held his stomach, feeling it twisting while burning. He breathed shakingly, his body was probably collasping on its own. He felt something creeping up his throat before letting out his lunch and dinner on the ground.

Moments later, after retaking his breath, he spat out the last strings of saliva and pushed away the pain in the back of his mind. He groaned and jogged back to the rooftop with his platoon.

The Apaches ruthlessly gunned down the remaining hostiles, any survivors were quickly shot by the Marines and paratroopers.

 _"Alpha Actual, this is Raptor 8-1, run gun complete, hostiles are pulling off. We're RTB for refuelling and rearming. Good luck out there, over."_

"Thanks for the support, 8-1, much appreciated, over and out." Raymond replied through the radio.

He bent down and sat against the sandbags. Troops on the ground stayed up though tired but relieved once the fight was over. Dukeman continued to survey the area cautiously, not trusting his own guts.

"Now what?" His friend asked.

Raymond perked up and shrugged, "Tomorrow we should push forward. We'll have Strike Force and UAF support along the way with Bravo Company... I'll also need a casualty report first thing in the morning..." He added after a sigh, "We've lost so many today."

"And the fight's still not over." Dukeman pointed out.

Raymond slowly nodded in agreement. The fight's not over, not now, not tomorrow.

* * *

 _Ministry complex, Tokū Solis._

"Command! We've got a HVT in the Ministry Complex! Requesting digimon support NOW!"

A large explosion envelopped his men in flames. The company kept firing despite lacking serious firepower against a small but dangerously powerful group of Imperials.

"They're tearing through our ranks! WE NEED HELP ASAP!" The captain yelled urgently.

The screams of his men filled his ears. Everything spiralled downwards for the JSDF officer. German and British forces were coming to their aid but were quickly cut off. And now a powerful digimon is beating them to the ground.

"Shit! Shit!" He heard someone yell frantically before they were consumed by a black projectile.

He shouldered his rifle and fired desperately at the figure of a fallen angel, their arms reached up to the night sky to summon seven black orbs. The bullets harmlessly bounced off their armour like airsoft pellets.

The captain backed away in fear, switching to his sidearm and aimed for the orbs. One of them detonated, hurting the fallen angel but did nothing other than to piss them off. They launched all six others at the JSDF soldiers. The officer dived to the side, almost consummed by the orb.

He searched around for anything that could damage their armour. A dead soldier held onto a Panzerfaust-3 near him. Looking back, the powerful digimon seemed to be distracted, he slowly crawled his way to the rocket launcher.

He grabbed it, closed the eyes of the fallen soldier in respect and shouldered the launcher. He pulled the rod out for maximum armour penetration, took aim and pulled the trigger, the 110mm HEAT rocket soared at its target.

The digimon heard the distinct 'thump' and turned their head just when the rocket struck them. The explosion was fierce and powerful, the blast almost burned the captain.

The Japanese officer shakily stood back and raised his rifle wearily at the smoke cloud. The air was oddly silent but tense. No shots were fired yet he knew that something was wrong, it couldn't have been this easy, nothing was in the Digital Front.

He reached for his radio and contacted command.

"This is Delta Actual, sector's clear, requesting evac and reinforce-"

His eyes widened with fear as the silhouette of the fallen angel appeared in the dissipating smoke cloud.

"Negative! Sector's not clear! We need help n-AAARGH!"

A large black sword penetrated his whole chest, the blade sticking out through his back. The man dropped the radio and rifle, gurggling in his own blood and his body shaking uncontrollably.

The digimon lifted the impaled man and glared at him with rage. They roughly pulled out the sword, drawing out blood that pooled on the ground and forcefully grabbed onto the human's throat.

Without a word, electricity shot out of their arm and surged through the man's body, electrocuting him. The digimon scoffed and threw the body away.

"Disgusting pests..." The digimon glowered before hovering back in the complex, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction that they caused single-handedly, bodies and blood scattered all over the devastated ground outside of the complex.

* * *

 **Author's Note: JOYEUX NOEL! Sorry for being a tad bit late but I've planned to post the next chapter soon and a _special_ present in addition. I hope you guys like this chapter and look forward to the next one :D A la prochaine!**


	37. Chapter 36

Chapter 36:

War of Attrition

"Twenty seconds..." Sullivan announced.

Raymond glanced at his watch before observing the target's location through his binoculars. The target for the incoming airstrike was a radio station and commercial complex now used as a Forward Operating Base for the Imperials. Destroying it will severely cripple their communications and supply lines.

"Ten seconds..."

In the distance, the sound of passing jets echoed loudly in the sky. Then in less than a second, three attack jets flew just overhead the target building, the radio tower collapsed on the side as a large cloud of smoke rose up. Finally came the thunderous sound of the explosion, prompting Marines and soldiers to cheer and applaud at the attack jets.

Raymond tore his eyes off the binoculars and turned to Sullivan, who had a small smile on his face.

"Let's get to work, lieutenant,"

"Aye, captain,"

"We're moving out! Get in the vehicles! Double time, Marines!" Bellowed Dukeman at the top of his lungs.

The men and women hurried to embark on the vehicles while the tanks drove forward, leading the convoy.

The second IDDF offensive has begun and the Imperials will fight much harder this time, inflicting as much damage as they can in a day.

"Keep your eyes open, gents, " Sergeant Flamedramon warned, pulling his rifle's charging handle.

The physically scarred digimon readjusted his plate carrier and huffed. Lance Corporal Guilmon was manning the turret, as per usual. Sparks's health status is still unknown to First platoon, and so Staff Sergeant Angelos Morgan will be their platoon leader.

He looked to the side through the window, the silence was unnerving. Radio chatters from other units intefered and caught in their radio. A Little Bird flew just over their vehicle, kicking up dust and smoke around itself and the convoy.

Then a distinct snap ripped the silence.

 _"Contact! Foot mobiles, a hundred meters!"_ One of the tanks stated.

 _"Hostiles in the building!"_

"Oh fuck, get ready, boys!" Flamedramon announced as the vehicle reached a crossroad.

The roars of the Browning M2 signalled him that they were taking enemy fire. The two tanks spread out to the side, letting the convoy spread out and form a defensive perimeter at the roundabout. His windshield cracked suddenly, both he and the driver flinched in surprise.

Once the perimeter was formed, the Marines and soldiers disembarked from the vehicles and engaged the enemy on all sides, in the buildings, on the rooftops, in the streets and alleyways.

Raymond bent down as incoming rounds hissed by him. He took a quick look at his men and assets on the battlefield. The enemy has the upper hand: they were pinned and hammered by foot mobiles and light armour.

"Darrack!" He called out to the radio operator, "Get me CAS ASAP!"

"Copy!"

Dukeman came up to him from behind, using his sidearm instead of his primary weapon. Raymond gave him a questioning look before the NCO replied with:

"Weapon got shot," Showing the hole that struck the carbine's upper receiver, "What's the plan, skipper?"

"I'm going to clear ourselves a path out of this kill box!"

"ROCKET!"

Both of them hit the ground before the high explosive ammunation hit the side of an AAV, launching two Marines in the air and burning a paratrooper. Raymond got back to his feet and ran towards the nearest wounded Marine.

The Corporal was covered in his own blood, his left leg loosely hung to the thigh by a string of flesh and peppered bones. Several fragments were lodged in his plate carrier, ribcage and left arm. Raspy breaths came out of the man's mouth, still in shock to fully register the pain.

"Corpsman! Eugene!"

Corpsman Eugene dashed across the roundabout and slid near the captain and wounded Marine. He took out a tourniquet and a syringe of morphine while he called for a stretcher.

"Hang in there, Marine, we're getting you out of here," The combat medic softly assured.

"Captain!" Darrack handed the radio to Raymond.

"Warlord, this is Alpha Actual, requesting CAS near my position at sector Echo-4, I need them to clear to rooftops so we can push forward, over."

 _"Copy that, Alpha Actual, Raptors are inbound in ten minutes, callsign 8-1, over."_

"Roger that. Ten minutes until air support arrives," He told Dukeman loudly.

"We won't be here in ten minutes!" The senior NCO pointed out in frustration.

"I know! But we'll just have to stand our ground!"

"Hostile cavalry! East side!" A Marine shouted.

"Oh fuck... that's a whole cohort..." Sullivan said with dread.

Grouped in a tight square formation, the cohort of cavalry was made up of KnightChessmon, Assaultmon, Centalmon, Pajiramon, Lighdramon and Sagittarimon, all lead by a veteran Zanbamon.

The half-demon, half-beast samurai lifted their greatsword, the zanbato, in the air, letting out a gruff war cry before pointing the blade at the convoy. The cavalrymen roared and charged forward.

"Focus fire on the leader! Aim for the legs for the others!" Raymond instructed as the Marines, Paratroopers and Japanese soldiers opened fire, letting out a storm of bullets.

Heavy machine gun fire and large caliber shells spat out from the armoured vehicles, inflicting massive damage to the charging cavalry line but it wasn't enough to halt them. Arrows, javelins and other special projectiles flew back at the humans, inflicting further casualties as they were being fired upon from the infantry on the rooftops.

The cohort was closing in on them quickly, some of the men and women were beginning to get nervous and panic. One of the rookies of Third Recon unit cursed and dropped his rifle in panic and spun around to run away.

Kuribayashi stepped in front of him and forcefully shoved the young private against a M-ATV while under heavy enemy fire.

"Just what do _YOU_ think you're doing, private Ayama?!" The petite woman asked furiously and sternly, "Grab your rifle and fire! Don't you dare falter again!" She ordered as she threw the private next to his rifle.

The private nodded numbly and grabbed his assault rifle shakingly, unable to think clearly. Kuribayashi kept a watchful eye on him while providing cover fire.

"Come on, Ayama! On your feet and fire your weapon!"

"Y-yes M-master-Sergeant!" He yelled in reply as he finally got his grip and nerve back.

"Keep it up, troopers! Let them have it!" Itami shouted in encouragement at his platoon, "Make them bleed! For our homeland!"

"RYOUKAI!"

"Two hundred meters!" A Paratrooper warned urgently, "They just keep coming!"

"Then keep firing, damn it!" Captain Graham yelled in response while reloading the M4A1 carbine.

"Incoming! Take cover!" Someone yelled frantically as arrows and javelins rained down from above.

The humans hit themselves close against the vehicles to minimise the exposure from the lethal rain of projectiles. An arrow struck Graham's right shoulder, the Chrome Digizoid tip of the arrow lodged deeply into his flesh and bone. The officer yelled in pain as he ran to join his men at the vehicles. He nearly got impaled by an oversized dart that struck the ground next to him before he threw himself at a group of soldiers.

"Son of a bitch..." He muttered angrily and dryly, "Fuckers got me..."

A combat medic was already inspecting his wound, "Looks like you got your ticket home, captain," He joked wryly.

"Gee thanks, Gabe, that's what I was hoping for," Graham shot back sarcastically before gritting his teeth in pain.

A series of foreign explosions caught his attention as he looked behind him. The cavalry charge has finally being halted by several missile strikes of unknown origin. The legionaire formation was in disarray, the digimon were unable to locate the foreign and hostile artillery battery.

"Friendlies on the rooftop! West side!"

Marine squads appeared on the rooftops and opened fire at the adjacent and nearby hostile rooftops while several others in the buildings fired down on the cavalry legionaires. Some of the troops in the convoy sighed in relief as reinforcements finally came. Bursting out from the alley and striking from air were digimon of the UAF, circling and fighting the legionaires on the ground head-on. Riding proudly on top of Dorulumon was Shoutmon, brandishing his mic – acting also as his weapon - to the cluster of imperials.

"Attack!" He shouted with an authoritative voice.

He leapt off the canine's back, somersaulting in the air and swung his weapon hard against an Assaultmon's face before landing on his feet, in the thick of battle.

"Watch your fire, Marines! Friendlies ahead of us, aim for the rooftops and any nearby hostiles!" Raymond commanded loudly, "Pour it on them!"

With additional numbers and firepower, the troops in the convoy formation were able to focus fire and relieve some of the pressure off the convoy. Coming from the East side of the highway was Bravo company's convoy, their presence already changing the tide of battle.

"Fiery Fastball!" A fireball in the shape of an eighth note launched out of the mic and slammed hard against the Pajiramon.

The goat beast yelped in pain and anger, they aimed their crossbow at the relatively small digimon.

"Bao Gong!" The crossbow shot out arrows like an assault rifle.

Shoutmon dashed towards his foe avoiding the shower of rapid bolts with speed and agility or deflecting them with his staff. Getting closer the Ultimate level digimon, he charges up his next attack, feeling a blazing emotion swirling in his chest. Missing a bolt by sliding to the side, he used the momentum to push himself off ground and leaping high enough above his enemy. He wielded the staff over his head, flames started to come of his mouth and staff.

"Soul crusher!"

A powerful ball of raw energy shot out of the McField brand mic, Pajiramon's eyes widened in fear and panic, the attack engulfed them burning their skin and flesh as well as their Digicore. They let out one last cry of agony before they exploded into data particles.

"Shoutmon!" The mentionned digimon turned around and glared at the centurion Zanbamon, "So the leader of the rebellion finally shows himself, it'll be an honour to paint this street with your blood!" He said with a sadistic and crooked grin, "Meet your end, little lizard!"

The samurai demon lunged at his target, his swords drawn to slice the small digimon to pieces. Shoutmon took a fighting stance and rigidly stood his ground, grasping his staff firmly, his eyes narrowing at his opponent.

"Uchikubi Gokumon!"

The red dragon leapt to the left just in time, he felt the tip of the zanbato scratching his chestplate. Though a miss, Zanbamon had already swung the gigantic sword towards him, he had no choice but the deflect the attack and hope for the best. And it seemed to answer his prayers.

"Uchikubi – OOF!"

A 40mm round slammed itself against Zanbamon lightly armoured side armour, the sudden force crushing his ribcage and lung. The demon digimon staggered almost tripping on himself as he tries to steady himself.

"Arm bunker!"

Surging behind Zanbamon was Ballistamon, the robotic digimon punched his lower body, the explosive punch sent the beast meters away on the ground. Shoutmon looked to his right, spotting the human that timely saved him.

"Thanks!" He gratefully said much to the paratrooper's perplexed face.

"But that was an accident..." He muttered under his breath and shrugged nonchalantly.

Zanbamon growled as he got on his feet, he was internally bleeding, his crushed bones punctured his lungs and organs. With a dying breath he lifted his swords and prepared himself to face his foe, the small digimon calmly walking towards him in the middle of the battle.

"Surrender now, Zanbamon, you've lost and your troops are beaten," Shoutmon stated, hoping the beast samurai would make the right choice.

"Over my dead body, you're coming with me to the Dark Area!" Zanbamon bellowed before making a final and suicidal charge at Shoutmon.

The charge stopped abruptly as multiple large rounds penetrated his entire body, punching his body to a bloody pulp and gore, pieces of flesh and organs and blood spat out of his peppered corpse. Shoutmon immediately looked away in grimace while Ballistamon stood motionlessly and silenlty. Once the carnage was over, the body riddled in large bullet holes and with missing organs and body parts slumped on the ground with a sickening wet sound. That's when the heavy robotic digimon threw up petrol on the ground, the gore was too much for the robot.

The small battle ended shortly after, the entire cavalry cohort was destroyed to the last digimon while the few surviving imperial infantrymen fled the scene and chased away by the attack helicopters.

The commander of the UAF solemnly watched as the humans took care of their wounded while the dead were put in body bags, a chaplain gave a quick prayer to the deceased. He felt the approaching presence of his right hand digimon, Dorulumon.

"Is everything all right, your Highness?" His loyal and stoic friend asked with a hint of concern.

"Yes, Doru, I'm fine," He answered with a smirk, "It's just... I wish this was the end of it, the end of the war, the end of bloodshed but... we seem to spill more as we progress further to our goal." Dorulumon remained quiet as Shoutmon ponders and struggles with his mind and morals, "Are... are we doing the right thing? I feel like we've aggravated the situation, making it worst,"

"Hmm... it may seem like it but sadly this is war, war is hell and ugly, especially with the humans, we've seen what they're capable of," Dorulumon spoke sincerely.

"That's the thing, they came here to help us... right?"

"Only time will tell, Shoutmon, the Royal Knights trust them, so maybe we should. Humans, eventhough I do not know much about them, can be unpredictable,"

"Looks like we'll have to wait for the future then," Shoutmon sighed and looked at the human soldiers as they board in their armoured vehicles, "Come on, gather the troops and get ready to take the FOB,"

"Yes, your Highness." Dorulumon bowed his head respectfully and took off to assemble the troops.

* * *

 _Blackhawk crash site._

 _"Spartan 2, this is Chief, new mission update for you. Overlord wants us to support German and British units at the Ministry complex with Spartan 3, an HVT is located in the area, two Rks are on their way there."_

Renamon hissed as a bullet scraped her left shoulder, small driplets of blood tainted her dirty yellow fur.

"2 to Chief, you want us to abandon our position now?"She asked incredously, questionning command's sense of timing.

 _"Affirmative, it is of upmost priority to capture or kill the HVT and right now they're killing friendlies as we speak."_ Colbert replied over the radio.

Renamon shook her head, not believing her current situation, "Roger that, Spartan 2's moving out to new objective point," She reported after a groan, "Alright, squad! We're moving out to the Ministry complex,"

"Now?! In the middle of the fight?" Roach asked, "Why?"

"Command wants us to support friendlies there, there is an HVT that the Royal Knights want to take out. We gotta egress now and fast. Double time!"

A collective groan was her response as the Recon Marines picked up their weapons and gear. They exited to the alleyway through the apartment's back door, the sound of gunfire muffled behind them by the tall and large buildings. Renamon brought her left hand up and swung it forward three times, signalling her squad to pick up their pace as they move through the narrow alleyways.

A couple of minutes later, Spartan 2 reached their destination from the West side. The complex featured two buildings surrounded by a medium sized concrete wall with barbed wire on top. The smaller building was the security post, located on the East side not far from the South entry gate and main courtyard where the British and German forces were. The second building was much larger in size, it was a three storey palace built in the middle of the complex featuring a rooptop and two underground levels for storages and parking lots for vehicle-type digimon. The West side of the building had three entry points: one leads to the underground levels, not far from it was a metal door that leads to a small office room and the third is the office's main entry with two glass sliding doors and metal detectors.

The Force Recon Marines ran towards the wall. They grouped up and place C4 charges on one spot of the wall. They backed away silently counting down before the detonation. The explosion blasted through the thin concrete wall, the squad rushed in and formed a semi circle perimeter.

"East courtyard secured. Coal, Roach on me to the door, Rookie and Graves, overwatch from the main entry, you may shoot on sight," Her squad nodded in response and moved to position. Renamon grabbed her headset's mic and activated it, "Spartan 3, this is Spartan 2, we're at the objective point, we're clearing a path for you, what's your ETA?"

 _"3 to Spartan 2, ETA five mikes,"_

"Copy, 2 proceeding breach and clear, over and out,"

Roach discreetly opened the door, the small fireteam followed closely behind him. It was the break room, two vending machines, three comfy chairs and two coffee tables, basically the standard break room of any office. Connecting the office and the break room was a small dimly lit corridor.

The three-man team heard gunshots from the other side, Graves and Rookie were engaging a squad of imperials. Rapid footsteps and shouts were near them. Stacked up at the end of the corridor, Roach briefly peered into the office. It was a medium sized room with a space dedicated to work, with office cubicles, computers and a copy/scannning machine. The main hallway can either lead directly to the palace's lobby area to the left or to a hallway farther ahead, with one path branching to the right that leads to the main entry.

Several hostile troops ran across the hallway, not noticing Roach as they piled up to repel enemy attacks. Roach looked behind him and reported ten armed tangoes a couple of meters away from their position, through hand signals.

Renamon instructed to cook a frag and toss it as far as possible, while Coal watches the left side, Roach and her will take out the hostiles. Sergeant Sanderson prepared a frag grenade, pulled the pin and counted to three before he tossed it at the very end of the hallway.

The three Marines took cover behind the office cubicles and took their designated position. The hand grenade detonated, two Commandramon fell on the ground, one dead, the other severely wounded. The imperials looked around in shock and before they could register what was happening, a shower of hot lead annihilated the rest of the squad, streams of blood bursted out of their body and splashed all over the wall.

Silence hung in the hallway.

"Hallway clear!" Roach announced as quietly as possible, "Friendlies coming out,"

Renamon's team grouped up with Graves and Rookie. Shortly after, Spartan 3 arrived as a seven-man squad. They agreed to split into two teams: Team 1, consisting of Renamon's squad and two others - Corporal "Dust", the SAW gunner and Sergeant Lynn, the Breacher – will secure the first floor while Team 2 will draw enemy fire from the lobby area.

Adam "Rookie" Blade volunteered to take the lead. The group silently walked down the corridor. The doors on the left leading to the lobby area had been blocked, losing a quick access to the first floor and surprise the enemy just below their noses. On the right side were two staircases and an elevator that led to the underground level. The Marines reached the other side of the corridor, another office area awaited them.

Rookie halted the group and peeked out of cover. There were some vending machines, office cubicles, benches and decorative pots of plants. At the right hand corner of the room was a staircase leading to the first floor. Surveying the area one last time, he turned to his squad leader and gave the all-clear signal. The Marines continued on and headed for the staircase. On the first floor, they approached an open entry way leading to the indoor balcony overviewing the lobby area. Two Marines prepared their frag grenades. They pulled the pin, waited three seconds and threw the hand grenades in the balcony. The floor trembled as the grenades detonated, the combined explosions wiped out the whole imperial machine gun squad on the balcony, some of them were thrown off by the blasts. Team 1 rushed in and finished off the few survivors coldly.

The looby area was large, featuring four large, tall and pristinely decorated pillars, supporting the rooftop with a wide square window that shined down on the area with the sunlight. Soft crimson carpet was layered all across the ground with black incricate motives on them. More exotic plants decorated corners of the lobby. On both sides of the indoor balcony were large staircases and just below it was the reception desk.

"Balcony clear!" Renamon shouted to the team below them.

She heard Spartan 3's squad leader, Staff Sergeant Jacob Neeson, contacting the commanders of the British and German soldiers outside the palace. Minutes later, infantrymen of both nations arrived in the palace, branching out into squads and secured the ground floor. Renamon met up with Neeson and the British and German platoon leaders, Lieutenant John Paddy and Leutnant Frank Völlmer.

"Thanks for easing the pressure off our shoulders, mates," Paddy said with a grateful smile, "Völlmer here almost lost his head in the firefight," He added with a laugh, the German officer lightly chuckled.

"Jä, die Kugel zischte einfach an meinem Kopf," Völlmer confirmed while imitating with his index a bullet flying pass his head.

"Glad we came in time, although we've been informed that there's an HVT in the area, is that true?" Neeson asked concernly.

The British officer frowned while the Germam barely understood the American, "We saw him moments before you arrived," He began with a grim sigh, "We were supposed to help out a Jap unit but they got wiped out," He pointed at the scattered corpses of JSDF soldiers outside the palace, "There were no survivors,"

"Then if the HVT haven't fled the area, then he's stuck here with us," Neeson stated confidently but after a glance towards Paddy and Renamon, he began to doubt.

"Oh no, we're stuck here with him. If the Royal Knights don't arrive here soon, we might end up like our friends just outside," Paddy told them ominously.

Suddenly, Renamon's senses peaked up, she felt a powerful presence near them and it was getting stronger, closer. Roach picked up on her sudden change in body language and directly assumed the worst.

"Get to cover! He's coming!" He yelled.

They heard screams and frantic gunshots followed by a serie of explosions coming from the corridor at the back. German soldiers ran out in the lobby area, fear in their faces as they ran away from something that chased them.

"Los! Los! Lassen Sie uns hier verschwinden!" One of them shouted in hurry.

Three dark orbs bursted through the wooden doors and engulfed the nearest unfortunate soldiers, consuming and reducing them into a pile of burnt flesh and organs. Renamon took cover behind a pillar and aimed her carbine at the doorway, her squadmates did the same while the allied soldiers regrouped and repositioned for the upcoming fight. The lights in the building died, the ceiling lights popped and shattered above the IDDF troops.

"Shadow Shockwave!" A heavy voice boomed from the dark corridor.

A powerful shockwave swept across the ground floor, Renamon timely held onto the pillar as the invisible wave forced her to the ground. Surprised gasps and grunts resonated from the soldiers. Marines and troopers on the balcony quietly took their position and readied themselves to attack the HVT from above.

However it didn't end here.

Renamon's ears twitched again, sensing multiple enemy presences. Her eyes flashed and gazed upwards, a faint shadow was spotted running along the ceiling window.

"Hostiles from above!" She warned hurriedly.

The ceiling window shattered, large pieces of glass rained on the soldiers and Recon Marines. A dozen of ropes were thrown in the lobby area, imperial troopers started to rappel down while others provided cover fire.

"Contact!"

Renamon's sharp senses and snappy accuracy helped her eliminate a handful of legionaires, dropping from above like dead bugs; the harder they fall...

A Sealsdramon slammed hard against the floor, a cracked voice escaped their mouth before they fell unconscious. A German trooper had his brains plastered all over the ground as a round penetrated his kevlar helmet and skull. It was an absolute chaotic carnage. And soon it will worsen.

"Seven Hells!"

Black spheres shot out of the dark corridor and struck down their targets like heat seeking missiles. A black mist twirled above the lobby area out of nowhere, the humans stared on with dread and fear.

"Here he comes!" Paddy shouted dreadfully.

The mist dissipated and BlackSeraphimon appeared, hovering above his new preys. Renamon glared at the Fallen Angel. She brought her sniper rifle and sharply took aim for the head. Not sparing any time, she pulled the trigger and loaded a new round in the chamber. The first shot bounced off BlackSeraphimon's faceless helmet. The Recon Marines shifted their focus on him, releasing a storm of lead from their rifles and machine guns.

Rookie load up a 40mm round in the M203. He peered out of cover and aimed carefully at his target hovering in the air. His left index lightly touched the trigger, hesitance halted his decision to fire.

"Fire your weapon, Blade, now!" Coal urged him from above.

Without a second thought, the high explosive round shot out of the tube and hurled towards the HVT's back. The round slammed against his back, denting the armour. BlackSeraphimon felt a burning sting and turned behind him, glaring at the human.

"Oh fu-" A dark orb hurled back at him. He dashed out of cover and slid behind a rectangular plant pot. The orb hit the ground, releasing a hiss as its energy slowly burned a patch of the carpet.

He lifted his armoured forearms to protect his face, the bullets bounced off the armour harmlessly. BlackSeraphimon smirked behind his helmet. He launched towards the balcony and slammed his fist on the ground. The might of his fist sent a powerful shockwave around him as the floor cracked. Two humans were thrown out of balcony, their surprised screams followed by heavy thuds rung in his ears like a melody. He loved causing chaos.

He got up and glided to the nearest soldier, grabbing them by the throat with his right hand while shooting seven orbs out of his left hand. Four out of seven hit their mark, the soldiers screamed in panic and agony as the dark purple flames consumed them. The man caught in his strong grasp struggled desperately for air, his fruitless attempt on getting free amused the demon. He brought his left palm against the human's body armour and shot at point blank range an orb, the projectile simply chewed throung the armour and flesh, leaving a large hole on the chest as blood poured out on the floor.

Renamon watched in horror as BlackSeraphimon threw the dead and mangled Recon Marine across the lobby area. Her cold eyes narrowed as adrenaline and anger boils from within, a sensation foreign to her. With a growl, she took her carbine and sprinted towards her target.

"Rookie, Roach on me!" She ordered after taking out three enemy troops in hand-to-hand combat, "Focus your fire on the HVT!"

Coal groaned in pain as he recovered from falling from the first flight of stairs. He sat against the wall and grabbed his M4A1 carbine. He glanced at the mag, still full, and racked the charging handle. He looked up at the balcony and saw a corpse of a British trooper lying on the steps, his eyes were wide open in terror. He could vaguely see the tall silhouette of the high value target. Grunting with effort, he stood up and opened fire. The spray of bullets bounced off the armour, inflicting only minimum damage to the wings.

BlackSeraphimon glowered at the injured human, he cracked his armoured knuckles and brought a hand up.

"Seven Hel-"

Furious bullets hit his shoulder plate followed by a storm of sharpened diamonds, piercing his side armour. He hissed as he looked down on the Renamon running across the lobby area towards him. He smirked and readied himself to attack. He lunged forward in the blink of an eye, his right fist retracted backwards and ready to strike a blow at the unsuspecting vulpine digimon.

Thanks to her superior senses and reflexes, she disappeared from sight and reappeared behind, her arms extended out as a glow began to form around her.

"Diamond storm!" The attack pierced the demon's back, sticking deep into his flesh.

BlackSeraphimon growled through gritted teeth and spun around with a roundhouse kick. Once again, Renamon dodged the kick and reappeared on the stairs, firing a burst from her carbine before swiftly relocating. Although she was just a Rookie-level, the Renamon-specie is reputated to take down any foe and if he wasn't careful, she could knock him out.

Drawing his attention to her, Renamon was buying enough time for Roach to recover Coal while Rookie preps a grenade in the M203. Reaching the balcony, she glanced around her, mangled and disfigured corpses of allied troops scattered on the floor, their blood painting the wall around her. BlackSeraphimon launched two orbs at her. She dived for cover, the corner barely held together as the projectiles exploded near her.

Marching back up the steps, BlackSeraphimon cackled lowly as he spots his prey cowering behind a small piece of wall.

"Time to die..." He murmured as he summons his longsword from thin air.

Then she disappeared, just like that. He cocked an eyebrow up in perplexion. He knew her abilities but now he was weary for her next move. Until something else caught his attention. A whistle came from behind him. He turned around and a solid projectile punched his face on impact before releasing a thick smoke cloud. Roach picked Coal up with Renamon providing cover fire while Rookie loads an H.E up. Spartan 3 Marines suppressed the HVT while the British and Germans began to evacuate their wounded from the dying firefight.

BlackSeraphimon cursed loudly, he was sure that his nose was broken evident by the fact he could feel and taste blood dripping out of his nose under his helmet. He swept away the cloud with his damaged wings, coughing lightly as the smoke dissipates. Looking down on the lobby area, he could see the humans dragging their dead and wounded out while a few of them began to open fire at him, covering their retreat. He lifted his forearms up to deflect the incoming bullets. Another explosive round hit him, the blast pushed him but he was still on his feet.

Blade swore under his breath and searched for a new H.E round. He soon realised that that was his last round. Swearing, he loads another smoke round. The underbarrel grenade launcher popped as the smoke round flew out of the tube, arching upwards before impacting on BlackSeraphimon. Now suppressed, Rookie egressed back to cover with the others.

"Shouldn't the Royal Knights be here by NOW?!" Graves asked in frustration.

BlackSeraphimon flew out of the smoke and hovered in the middle of the lobby area, hurling dark projectiles at the soldiers. Renamon saw a projectile soaring towards Roach. She dashed across the lobby and lunged herself at him, tackling the man meters away from the blast radius. The projectile tore a chunk of the pillar seconds where Roach once stood.

"T-thanks, guess I owe you one now, huh," Renamon smirked at her friend and shook her head.

"On your feet, Marine," She ordered him with a casual tone.

"Damn it!" They heard BlackSeraphimon shout as he spots two Royal Knights coming towards the palace.

UlforceVeedramon and Omegamon along with two Strike Force members, a ShineGreymon and a Miragegaogamon. The four digimon watched on as the humans pull out of the palace with the wounded and their dead. The bodies of dead Japanese soldiers sent shivers down Shinegreymon's spine. The humans paid no acknowledgement to the digimon.

"Miragegagaomon, check the left wing, Shinegreymon, you'll check the right wing, make sure no hostiles get in the palace. Regroup with us once you're done," Omegamon instructed flatly. The two Strike Force members nodded and went to their designated area. "Ready?" He asked the cobalt Royal Knight.

"Always," Ulforceveedramon replied with thumbs up and a confident grin.

The white knight gazed at BlackSeraphimon, whom stared back at them in silence, waiting for them. Their target is trapped in the palace and although the lobby area is large it isn't wide enough for air manoeuvres, limiting the movement in the air and their ranged attacks. If they let him out, he could fly away and fall back to enemy line.

"We need to keep him in the building, we can't let him out and escape," He informed his fellow knight.

"Or cause more damage," Ulforceveedramon added grimly, "I think he had done quite enough,"

Nodding in agreement, Omegamon hovered a couple of feet ahead, his gaze levelling with BlackSeraphimon's faceless helmet.

"BlackSeraphimon! We're offering you one last chance to surrender. It's over, you're outnumbered and surrounded. Give up while you still can!" He announced diplomatically.

"How about you tell these humans to fuck off and then we can talk!" The fallen angel retorted.

"Come on, that's our cue," Renamon instructed as she helped a fellow Recon Marine up on his feet. The Recon Marines vacated the area, glacing back and forth between the Royal Knights and BlackSeraphimon, some were confused while others were pissed off, wanting the HVT dead than negociating with him.

BlackSeraphimon laughed lowly at the Royal Knights.

"What's so funny? Mind to share with us your hilarious joke?" Ulforceveedramon demanded sarcastically and mildly annoyed. Although he's been a Royal Knight for well over two decades, he's still far less cool-headed and mature than Omegamon, whom had been with the Order eversince their creation three centuries ago.

"I can't believe you're still depending on these _wasteful_ humans," The demon began, "I mean, seriously, seeking their help to take us down? That's pretty weak coming from the Royal Knights, the _protectors_ of the Network,"

Both Royal Knights slowly prepared themselves for a fight. Omegamon's cold eyes bore on his opponent as he analyses him, observing him and looking out for any subtle movements.

"Unless... it is for another agenda?" He asked rhetorically, prompting the white knight to gaze at him with curiosity, "You and I are not so different actually, we all have the same end goals, conquering the Real World..."

"What?" Ulforceveedramon murmured.

"We've got your files, we know of your upcoming "prophecy", Yggdrasil's new world order. You're just using the humans as cannon fodder, diminish their military so they can't fight back when the time to strike is right... Haha, cunning of you."

BlackSeraphimon descended from the air, his feet lightly landed on the ground, "We're all puppets with strings on us. In a couple of years, only one percent of the Digimon population would live while the gods destroy and reset the world." He scoffed irritatedly, "There's a reason why I "rebelled" against _God_. Branded as a traitor by blind and fanatical digimon. **We're** doing the world a favour, saving and protecting those under our rule-"

"A life without freedom isn't doing the world a favour," Ulforceveedramon shot back, his red eyes narrowing as he and Omegamon carefully approached him.

"Freedom isn't free! You should know that! Without control, there's anarchy; how can you protect the Network when there's no stability? That's why there's order in this world! We're programmed by humans, created by them. Not God, not the Four Holy Beast, not even Yggdrasil! And you had to seek **their** help, ruining everything,"

Seven dark spheres summoned around him, a menacing sensation hung in the air around him. Both Royal Knight could sense it, negociation was over.

"Seven Hells!"

The spheres shot forwards, flying towards the two knights. The cobalt knight's left V Bracelet glowed as he flew in front of his companion.

"Tense great Shield!" The energy shield engulfed just in time as the orbs slammed onto it, the Royal Knight grinded his teeth as the force of the attack pushed him backwards.

Omegamon flew above UlforceVeedramon and suppress BlackSeraphimon with a volley of energy projectiles. The cobalt knight pressed forward, closing the distance between them. Two energy blades sprung out of his V Bracelets as he readied to slash his opponent. BlackSeraphimon jumped back gaining some distance in the air , he summoned a longsword made from steel digizoid and parried the Royal Knight's second attack.

Fortunately UlforceVeedramon had quick reflexes, stepping sideways before the blade could hack into his right shoulder. The corrupted Seraphimon had his sides exposed a second too late, receiving a painful cut from the knight, the energy blade dug deep into his armour and flesh. He snarled and headbutted the knight, much to his chagrin as more pain shot through his whole broken face. Both warriors stumbled backwards from the blow, UlforceVeedramon recovered sooner than the dark angel.

UlforceVeedramon steadied himself and puffed out his chest, the golden V on his chestplate glowed brightly as energy began to surged in.

"Shining V Force!"

A ray of energy shot out of his armour, slamming onto BlackSeraphimon and sent him flying across the lobby area, crashing into the farthest wall. BlackSeraphimon dropped to his knees, laboured breaths escaped his mouth, his left hand clutched onto his wound that bled profusely. Grabbing the longsword with a shaking right hand, he slowly stood back up, his body beaten up and too weak to lift the weapon over his shoulder.

Omegamon along with Shinegreymon joined UlforceVeedramon and pointed their weapons at the HVT, the white knight was ready to give him one last chance. Before he could spoke up, BlackSeraphimon growled menacingly after choking on his own blood.

"I won't give up, Omegamon, forget it! I'll rather die a warrior's death than rot in jail or in the Dark Area!"

"As you-"

"Fuck you!"

BlackSeraphimon suddenly shot his longsword out to Shinegreymon. Having no time to react, the longsword penetrated the cyborg digimon's lower torso, a pained gasp escaped his mouth by the unexpected attack.

"Seven Hells!" BlackSeraphimon launched his seven orbs at point blank range, hoping to get all three targets so he can escape.

UlforceVeedramon pushed Omegamon out of the way of three orbs and took the brunt of it, intense pain covered his entire body before he fell to his knees. Omegamon reflexively brought his Garuru Cannon up and fired a high caliber round at him before jumping back to dodge one of the orbs.

BlackSeraphimon leaned to his left and narrowly avoided the bullet. He began to flap his wings and focused on getting out of here. A couple of feet above ground and three powerful rounds struck through him, three gaping and bloody holes appeared through him on his chest, his own blood bursted out from the back and covered a wide area of the wall behind him. The corrupted angel fell on the ground limply, a pool of blood slowly formed around him.

"T-target e-eliminated..." Shinegreymon reported through raspy breaths, "... D-damn, this hurts a lot..." He added dryly, standing back up while holding onto his wound, the blade still lodged in his body.

"Are you alright, Sergeant?" Omegamon asked concernly for the Strike Force operator.

"Still alive, sire, but it'll... hurt... a lot..." He replied through laboured breaths.

UlforceVeedramon slowly got back up, his armour had large burn marks and holes, small driplets of blood flowed out of his armour. MirageGaogamon shortly arrived in time to support Shinegreymon out while Omegamon helped UlforceVeedramon.

The Recon Marines regrouped and ran back into the palace with extra ammunation on them while the British and German soldiers quickly gathered their wounded and dead as they prepared for a Medevac to come. Omegamon watched them with curiosity and confusion in his mind.

"Excuse me, trooper," He called out to a German trooper.

"Jä?"

"What is going on?" The trooper tilted his head to the side and shrugged his shoulders, not understanding the digimon, "Was ist lost?"

"Wir evakuieren die Verwundeten, die Amerikaner werden den Feind angreifen," He informed them before he jogged off.

"What's the sitrep?" UlforceVeedramon weakly asked.

"They're evacuating while the Marines hold the enemy off,"

"Damn... aren't they outnumbered for that task?"

"That's what I think so," Omegamon sighed solemnly, "We need to get you two to the physicians and report the others of BlackSeraphimon's death,"

* * *

 _Ministry Complex, North Entrance._

The Northern courtyard was filled with smoke clouds, the imperials had been covering their advances when the Force Recon units started to open fire. The north part of the palace was the entrance hall, exclusive only for the owner's guests and parties. It was a wide area, featuring golden and expensive chandeliers, white marble covered the surface, bordered against the wall by black marble. A large rectangular carpet was displayed in the middle of the hall, with comfy and expensive furnitures neatly arranged around it and sofas along the walls. Along the walls were portraits of Imperial generals, politicians and diplomats with the owner's portrait being the largest: MetalEtemon, a filthy rich digimon, businessmon and an important asset to the Imperium, finacially and diplomatically helping the Imperium and their war machine while profiting on the war, they didn't cared about allegiance or morals, they just want to win money.

As of now, MetalEtemon is long gone, hiding somewhere in the DigiWorld with no penalty thanks to his wealth and influence on the Digimon stock market.

Like the lobby area at the southern part of the palace, the hall had an indoor balcony, overwatching the entire area. Two large staircases branched out from the sides in a 'Z' pattern with tiled treads, double railings and an intermediate landing each. Below it and between the massive staircases was a glass double door at the end of the hall. Semi-circle sandbag walls were installed on the ground floor, in front of the entrance and on the staircases' landings, put up by the imperials prior their arrival.

The Recon Marines were posted on the balcony and on the intermediate landings; anything beyond their perimeter will be their killzone. The Marine operators waited patiently for the enemy to come out of the smoke. SAW gunners had only fired short bursts before the imperials deployed smoke outside.

Renamon brought up her sniper rifle, her carbine only had three more mags left before she needed to fight with her sidearm. She sensed the enemy approaching them, they only had one access into the palace and that is through them.

The Force Recon units had been alerted by MirageGaogamon that a company of light infantry were coming from the North. But she felt more than a company, probably a whole battalion was trying to recapture the palace. Not that is mattered for the IDDF, the British were planning to bomb everything past the palace on the Northern end, the Recon Marines just need to buy them enough time.

Faint silhouettes were coming closer, the Marines prepared themselves for the fight. Renamon brought her sniper rifle on the balcony's waist high wall and peered into the scope, adjusting her aim before holding her breath. A Sealsdramon came out of the smoke cloud, a battle rifle in hand and composure in high alert. They scanned the area ahead of their comrades, whom soon revealved themselves, their body language tense and cautious. The other Marines hid behind their cover, letting a handful of Imperials in before they wipe them out in the "kill-box". Setting foot in the hall, their metallic boots echoed around the area, their armour clattering and breath moderated and composed. The Sealsdramon at the lead lifted their left fist then pointed two fingers to the left then to the right. The legionaires followed their commands and split up.

That's when a sudden roar shattered the tense silence that hung in the hall.

A bullet struck the Sealsdramon through the armour, piercing their Digicore. The commando fell on the ground lifelessly and soon the Force Recon Marines showed themselves, their weapons barking, quickly eliminating a dozen hostiles. The other legionaires from outside rushed in as the sound of gunfire rang from the entrance hall.

The hall was soon riddled in bullet holes, the strong smell of gun powder present in the air while a light smoke cloud began to form in the area. Imperial officers shouted at the grunts as they push them in to the storm of bullets with minimum cover, pushing them to their death like a meat grinder. The Imperials were being mowed down once they set foot in the hall, having no other way to escape death other than towards it and hope for the best.

Grenades soon rained at the enemy. Multiple blasts blew Imperials to pieces, dismembering them or tearing them apart. Hot metal fragments shot out of the hand grenades, puncturing light armour and flesh, burning and molding in their victim's body. Cries of help and agony were muffled by the louder barks and roars of machine guns and rifles, like a variety of Chinese firecrackers. Metallic whistles whizzed and zapped at every direction, compared to an angry swarm of bees.

Casualties were taken on both sides, though the Imperials have the most losses. Two Marines from Spartan 3 were evacuating their SAW gunner out of harm's way while the team on the balcony provided cover fire.

"I don't think we have the ammo for this task!" One of them pointed out in frustration.

Evidently this was the case for them. The ammunation they've salvaged from the British and German convoys was nearly enough for the size of the opposition force. There were simply too many hostiles for the operators to handle. They were greatly outnumbered and they were low on ammo, at this point the line would crumble and the Marines have to fall back.

Renamon's M40A5 clicked, she pulled the bolt opened and there wasn't a single round chambered in, the magazine was empty. She searched through her plate carrier for any spare ammo, unfortunately, that was her spare mag, indicated by the red tape around the magazine. She scoffed and brought her carbine up, firing in quick and precise successions, sparing maximum two rounds for each target.

"Blade! How many H.E do you have left?" She asked across the staircase.

"Two rounds, Staff Sergeant!" He replied shortly after, "Should I use them?"

"Affirmative! Give them hell!"

"Roger that!"

A light pop was heard near her, then a loud explosion erupted near the entrance, blowing apart legionaires. Dust fell from the ceiling, the chandeliers rocked sideways by the strong shockwave, the windows cracked and broke to pieces.

"Second round up!" Rookie warned before he fired again, this time a little ways ahead of the first blast, "Launcher's dry!"

"Renamon! I'm pulling away a fireteam with me, we're setting the explosives in case we retreat." Neeson told her before he picked his guys and moved out, "Call me when you start to pull out."

"Copy!"

A round exploded on impact on the balcony, pieces of stone shot out, almost blinding the Marines behind it. Roach quickly ducked his head down. The Imperials were pouring in the hall faster than the Marines could eliminate them. It felt like they were fighting an endless wave of enemies.

Renamon felt a hot stinging pain shooting across her left arm. She almost fell behind before retaking her footing and ducked behind cover, her right hand instinctively grasping her left arm. Warm red liquid stained her white and yellow fur. She hissed as soon as pain was registered through her entire body. She looked at her arm and winced, the bullet tore deep into her left upper arm, oozing out driplets of blood through her white fingers.

"I'm hit!" She called out. Roach came up to her and inspected her wound, but she lightly pushed him way, "I'll be fine, fire your weapon!" Roach quietly nodded and did as ordered.

The vixen took her first aid kit out and proceeded to nurse her wound, as per trained and drilled to do. She bit open the pouch and applied the field dressing on the wound, wincing before sighing, feeling a bit at ease due to the analgesic effect. She wrapped up the dressing with roll of bandage. When done and sure that the dressing was tied thightly, she grabbed her MK18 MOD 0 carbine and shouldered it, her left paw weakly holding onto the foregrip.

"Frag out!" Graves called out as he tossed the grenade in the middle of the hall, where a group of Imperials were bunched up behind the couches.

The explosion ripped and tore through them and the furnitures, the carpet was beyond recognizable, patches had been burnt or ruined by bullet holes. The once expensive and heavily decorated hall had been destroyed beyong repair, disfigured by the firefight in a matter of seconds.

"Grenade!" The fireteam on the left landing ran back up the stairs to the balcony, narrowly escaping the grenade's blast zone.

"We need to pull back, we're getting overwhelmed here!" Roach urged his squad leader.

"Fire team 3, pull back with Fire team 1! The rest of you cover fire!" Renamon commanded sternly, groaning after reloading her carbine.

The fire team on the right landing retreated up the stairs and ran towards the corridor at the back. Once the coast was clear, fire team 4 began their retreat, leaving fire team 2, Renamon's squad, to hold the Imperials a few more seconds.

"Go!" She ordered, the squad backed away, returning fire and suppressing enemy troops.

Renamon tossed out a grenade at the balcony before making her escape. Legionaires were about to shoot her until they saw the grenade rolling on the floor.

"Grena-!"

The vixen digimon jumped just over a thin trip wire and regrouped with the rest of the unit. Three Marines were posted in the corridor, covering their exits. She arrived in the office area where the wounded and the spare ammunation were set up. Renamon leaned against the wall and breathed heavily, sweat poured out of her body, mixed with her own blood and dirt.

"Renamon, we need you to hold the ground floor, hostiles are breaching in as we speak," Neeson informed her with a hint of urgency in his voice, "We'll handle it from here,"

The digimon replied with a nod after recuperating her breath. She coughed and leaned her head sideways, her muscles popping satisfyingly.

"My guys on me!" She commanded in an authoritative tone.

"Oorah..." They responded tiredly.

Taking the stairwell to the ground floor, the squad of Force Recon Marines cautiously made their way down in silence. Slowly and as quietly as possible, Rookie pushed opened the metal door, the hinges creaked painfully loud, causing him to wince while trying his best to be silent.

"Someone should lubricate that door," Roach murmured humourously.

The corridor was dimly lit. Military and civilian equipment lay scattered on the floor, some of the access points were blocked or barricaded by the previous imperials. One end of the corridor leads to a large sized lounge, the other leads to another access point to the lobby area. It is up to five Marines to hold this line on their own against, probably, a couple dozens of hostiles.

The lounge featured a bar, dining tables, couches and an upper deck to welcome more guests. The floor were made of dark and squeaky clean wooden planks, the walls were covered in a soft velvet material with warm lights hanging from the black ceiling, setting up a particular mood in the room.

"Is this a strip club?" Sergeant Adam Blade asked half-jokingly and half-seriously.

Renamon let a giggle slip by her mouth as she shook her head at his naïve question, while the rest of the squad either snorted or held a stiffled laugh in response.

"Bro, do you see any strip poles around here?" Graves asked him with a sly grin. The youngest Marine of the platoon shook his head silently, "Then no, this isn't a strip club, it's a lounge, there's literally a sign on our way in and beside you!"

Confirming his statement, Blade looked to his right and indeed, there it was, a sign that read in bold black: lounge area 2. He blushed in embarrassment and faked a cough, heading up the upper deck with Coal.

A loud crash followed by rapid, metallic, footfalls echoed from outside the lounge. They're here and they were coming. The squad quickly took their positions and armed themselves for the fight. Weapon's locked and loaded, mag's full and mind and instinct prepared for this precise moment. A rush of adrenaline coursed through the body of each warrior, each fighter.

The black tinted glass doors slammed open, hot lead struck the first unlucky soldier, their body riddled with bullet holes, blood spewed out on all direction. The soldier behind them wasn't lucky either. Two rounds struck their helmeted head, jerking it backwards as blood and brain matter bursted out of their skull.

Time seemed to slow down. The two dead Imperials fell on the floor while the others rushed in the lounge, indiscriminately stepping on their corpses as they try to get to cover and return fire.

Having the vantage point, Coal and Rookie gunned down the enemy mercilessly, the bodies were starting to pile up before they could turn into data particles. A roundish object soared out of an Imperial's dying hand, bouncing off the wooden floor with a metallic thud before it rolled slowly near the bar.

"Grenade!" Roach yelled as he lunged for the hand grenade.

He swiftly picked it up under enemy fire and tossed it back as far as possible, a round struck his plate carrier in return, forcing him painfully to the ground. One of the legionaires screamed in horror as the frag grenade flew back at them. The whole lounge was silenced as the grenade detonated, blowing up the entrance doors to the lounge and everyone near it.

Renamon coughed dryly after she groggily sat up, her senses all blurred and disoriented. The room was filled with a light mist of smoke and dust, the smell of gunpowder hung heavily in the air. A familiar sharp pain assaulted her left arm, instinctively grasping her injured arm, she gazed at it and scoffed irritatedly, the field dressing tore up, letting blood to drip down along her arm.

Her ears twitched at the faint sound of footfalls. She spun around and wiped out her sidearm, weapon's barrel aimed at the direction of the sound. A lone WereGarurumon steadily rose back on their feet, clutching their lower torso while looking around dazily. The vixen digimon coldly shot them three times to the chest, the body fell back without a sound, it was already disolving into a data cloud.

"Are you alright, Staff Sergeant?" Asked Coal from behind.

"Yeah..." She groaned out.

At the corner of her right eye, she noticed Roach getting up while carefully supporting Graves up on his feet, the latter had his right knee shattered by a fragment. Graves hissed and grunted through gritted teeth, he occasionally spat out a curse word as more pain shot through him.

The Staff Sergeant was about to speak up when all of the sudden a projectile dangerously flew just above her head.

"Contact!"

She immediately bent down and hid behind a couch. She glanced back to see Roach and Graves wobbling out of the lounge while Coal ran down the staircase from the upper deck with Rookie providing cover fire. She propped out of cover and fired two shots down the dark corridor, hearing a shout of agony. More enemy rounds whizzed by them, snapping loudly near them. Her senses picked up the many footfalls, angry voices and armour clatters of the enemy, they were coming for them with a larger force, the explosion must've caught their attention and they called in back up. Lots of it.

Popping out of cover, she took aim and accurately eliminated three more tangos before she ducked down and reloaded her pistol. The handgun clicked as the mag slid in, the side snapped close sharply, a round chambered in the barrel.

"I'm loading!" Rookie told her.

"Covering!" She replied and propped up behind cover, pistol already set to fire.

The small caliber weapon jolted backwards in quick successions, three bullets spat out of the muzzle, soared across the lounge and struck their target on impact. Her right arm rested on top of the couch for better recoil control. A couple of shots hit after and her sidearm clicked. She ducked down and reloaded her last pistol mag.

"Loading!"

"Covering!"

"Get down, Blade, we're pulling back!" Coal said after bursting through the back, his carbine angrily barking as it spat more hot lead out of the muzzle.

"I'm moving!" Rookie announced before running down the staircase, backing away while his weapon was aimed at the door.

The Imperials were gaining ground on them, angrily pursuing their preys like a pack of hounds. Renamon fired the remaining rounds of her sidearm before she ran back towards her squadmates. Coal closed the door behind them, rounds shot through the obstacle. He took his last frag grenade, pulled the pin and swiftly lobbed the grenade in.

"Spartan 3 to Spartan 2, we're egressing back to the lobby! Be advised, numerous foot mobiles are present on the ground floor!" Renamon warned the other squad before she and her men jogged their way towards the lobby area.

The doors bursted open as the Force Recon Marines quickly regrouped with the British soldiers in the lobby area, positioned and ready to shoot at anything coming out of the doors. Two soldiers hurried over to the wounded Graves and quickly carried him to their combat medic.

Renamon slid behind a pillar, breathing heavily and painfully. Her entire body screamed in agony, begging her to stop but her steely mind and nature shushed these cries of pain and forced her body to work 120% more than it could. She wasn't letting anyone down and she won't give up without a fight.

"I'm dry! I need a pistol mag!"

"Here!" Roach tossed her a spare mag. She gratefully thanked him and pushed the mag in her P226's magazine feed, "That's my last, make each shot count!"

"Here they come! Light 'em up, lads!" A British NCO ordered sternly, their bullpup rifles roared to life as it brought death and destruction to the enemy.

Carefully picking her targets, Renamon made sure that each shot counts, she cannot spare a missed shot. She fired once, wounding an enemy before they were finished off by the other soldiers. Aiming with one hand was uncomfortable for her, her aim started to shake as her body threatens to collapsed at a moment's notice, not used to be pushed over its limits; and that's saying from a Renamon, a human would've collapsed two hours ago after going over their limits.

Seconds felt like minutes and minutes felt like hours as the intense and chaotic firefight dragged on, seemingly endless for the exhausted and fewer human soldiers.

"DCD Bomb!" Shouted a Commandramon, firing out a grenade from their underbarrel launcher.

Renamon rolled to the side, escaping the grenade's destructive blast, however the shockwave threw her off her feet, crushing her muscles and lungs. She hit the ground to a skidding stop, her body went numb from the intense pain. She felt her body burning from within, her eyes threatened to close shut and rest for a awhile. But once again her mind – the Marine part of her mind – told her subconscious to fuck off and yelled at her to stand up and grow a pair.

Almost as if on command, she wordlessly sat up and dragged herself away from the firefight. Her rational thoughts were going awry, she had one goal: find cover and fight back.

An intense pain struck her from the side, her body fell on the left as she screamed in pain, for the first time in years did she felt this much pain becoming too unbearable for her. She rolled to her back and weakly lifted sidearm up, her hand uncontrollably trembling and her vision started to blur. Rounds were flying around her.

Another round struck her, this time it dug deep into her right shin.

"Aaah fuuuck!" She cried with hot tears, "Fuck you!"

Roach slid to a stop next to her and quickly grabbed onto her plate carrier's shoulder straps. He heaved and dragged her backwards, taking a huge risk in the middle of the firefight, making him and his dear friend and squad leader easy targets for the enemy to pick on. Fortunately, their squadmates and the British focused on providing cover fire, unrelentlessly mowing the enemy with everything they've got.

"Don't let these fuckers get pass us!"

Renamon looked up at Gary hazily, her vision blurring and distorted yet his face was the only image that remained clear, his soft and worried voice clear despite the loud gunfire.

"Come on! Stay with me! Stay with me, Renamon! You'll be fine, Rena, you're going to make it through this!" He reassured with a determined voice. It was the first that he used a nickname for her.

"Keep your eyes on m-"

Blood rained on her after Gary was gone in the blink of an eye. She felt the abrupt stop and her head slapped against the concrete ground. She hissed and averted her gaze around her, looking for her friend.

"Medic! Medic!" An unfamiliar voice called out near her.

Grunting in pain, she propped her self up on her right arm, the limb pushing her torso up. Her eyes snapped wide open in horror while blood ran cold and paled away from her face, her breath taken away suddenly.

Beside her lied a severely wounded Gary "Roach" Sanderson, the Force Recon Marine whimpering and coughing blood out of his mouth, his chest and throat profusely bled on the ground, quickly forming a pool of the thick crimson liquid.

Immediately, Renamon crawled her way to him and held his trembling right hand, grasping it tightly with her paw, tears unconsciously streamed down her cheeks and small droplets fell on the man's bullet riddled plate carrier. Her mouth quivered but no words came out, her throat dry and heart painfully throbbing in her chest.

Gary offered her a weak, sad smile, his face slowly drained from colour as he felt colder by the second, almost ready to embrace the fact.

"Y-you...l-look... beautiful..." He croaked out, his smile widening somehow, "… t-thank you for b-b-being my friend..."

The pressure around her paw loosened, his eyes remained open but the irises widened into lifeless black, empty dots.

"N-n-o! No!"

Renamon tightened her grasp on his lifeless hand as she bent down and rested her head on his forehead, sobbing quietly. She held their intertwined hands close to her chest. She didn't care anymore, she had lost too many and now she had lost a very dear friend. Right in front of her very eyes. She didn't care about her pride or her reputation, she didn't care if her action was unnatural or shameful of her specie. She didn't care and damned the world around her.

Her mourning came to an abrupt stop as she felt hands grabbing her shoulder and lightly pulling away from his body. She allowed them without a protest, her watery eyes staring solemnly at him while being surrounded by a team of medics.

She was carried farther away from the ongoing firefight and lied down by Coal and Rookie, looking her with concern and sadness. A German medic came to her and began to nurse her wounds. She stared up at the sky blankly, she was exhausted, depressed and in pain.

She finally let her eyes close, wanting to escape reality and embraced the familiar empty void of her deep unconsciousness.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Well it has been a year now, I didn't expect it to last this long and it is almost over for this story (close but still far from it) before I move on to the sequels and prequel. So I want to thank everyone who read the story this far, it means a lot to me :D ... Welp that's all I have to say for now... um, I plan on finishing this story in February or early March. As always, à la prochaine!**


	38. Chapter 37

Chapter 37:

Men at War

 _October 30th 2019, Sekibetsu River, Tokū Solis._

The battle grew fiercer on the third day. Men and Digimon fought tooth and nail for each meter of land, casualties stacked up on both sides. The capital city was in shambles, any sign of its prior prosperity was wiped out in a few days. The glorious shine it had when the sunlight reflected off the many round, dome-like roofs of the business district and Imperial district was replaced by the lingering trails of black smoke rising up from the embers of destroyed buildings. Nothing was spared in the city.

Dividing the city in two was the Sekibetsu River, surrounding what is known as the Imperial District; where the elites, nobles, aristocrats and high ranking military officers of the Imperium reside, it is also where many prestigious universities, military academies, libraries and scientific reseach centres were located at. But more importantly, the district represents the Emperor's powers and residence.

The tanks hammered the enemy positions to the ground, the way towards the bridge had been blocked by numerous sandbag lines, barbed wires, tank traps, concrete walls and more. Buildings around the main road were booby trapped either by IEDs or a small group of legionaires, they made sure that each step that the IDDF took would inflict serious damage to its troops and their morale.

Flamedramon jumped over a sandbag wall and swiftly parried a sword strike from a fanatical Darcmon. The angel lunged the blade forward, he used his M16A4 rifle to swipe it away from him and struck her ribcage with the buttstock. The angel digimon grunted and staggered backwards, the two digimon stood a couple of feet away from each other, glaring as they silently wait for the other to make a move.

Darcmon yelled out her warcry and swiped her sword downwards, intending to hack Flamedramon' left arm off. He narrowly dodged the attack and plunged his bayonet through her chest. Grunting in effort, he pushed the blade further into the flesh and forced her on the ground. Blood spat out of the angel's mouth, tears dripping down her dirty and battered face. Flamedramon kicked her sword away. He lifted his rifle and aimed down the sights, muzzle pointed at her face. He pulled the trigger and coldly watched the bullet flying through her head, ending her life in cold blood.

The blue dramon stood there silently for a long second before he snapped himself out of his lost daze.

The Marines of Alpha and Bravo company, along with the JSDF soldiers of the Third Recon Unit and the digimon of the UAF fought through the hellscape of the battlefield. Blood, bullets and bodies dotted the road, large craters filled the street and buildings collapsed on themselves.

Cyberdramon slid to a halt behind a concrete wall. His squadmates followed suit, taking their positions and opened fire at the enemy. The digimon brought his machine gun on the wall, racked the bolt and began to spray the imperials with bursts of 7.62mm rounds. More Marines joined them as they slowly make the hard push to the bridge. Mortar strikes shortly plummeted from above, wiping out a large number of enemy soldiers and cover.

"Move out, Marines! Let's go!" Their platoon leader yelled before vaulting over the wall.

The Marines obeyed without question, with bayonet fixed at the end of their rifles, the Marines charged into another cover line of enemy troops in hand-to-hand combat. The cyborg digimon hefted the light machine gun and vault over the concrete obstacle. Projectiles flew passed him, snapping near him as he makes his move towards the fight. His body began to tire, the weight of his weapon, tactical vest and combat pack started to take a toll on him.

A round snapped just below him, losing his balance and fell on the concrete road painfully. He slowly rolled on his back and quickly wiped his weapon around and fired blindly just when a Sealsdramon was about to gun him down. The bullets perforated the digimon's armour and guts, spewing out blood on the ground and Cyberdramon. The legionaire dropped on the road and lied there motionless. He took in heavy breaths, relieved that he saved himself from death yet again. This was the third time today and he felt his lucky streak reducing.

"Come on, Corporal! On your feet and fire your weapon!" His squad leader yelled from behind.

Nodding in response, he pushed himself off the ground and joined the rest of his squad. Only three hundred meters to cross yet the objective seemed so far away. The tanks and LAVs cautiously drove forward, destroying everything in their path while the infantry moved up on the sides, sometimes clearing a building along the way. The tank at the head of the heavy support column droved over the concrete wall, crushing it under its tread and heavy weight. It let out another terrifying thunderclap, the ground trembled after the high explosive shell hit its mark.

"Loading!" Cyberdramon yelled as he flipped the feed cover up.

He threw his pack in front of him and searched for another ammo pouch. He locked the pouch on the machine gun and pulled out the belt of bullets and placed it on the feeding lock. He flipped down the feed cover and racked the charging bolt. He shouldered the weapon and resumed suppressing the enemy with short bursts of hot lead.

He felt the ground shake once again after the M1A3 Abrams fired another shell out. He glanced back to see the tan metal beast slowly making its way to the bridge with the infantry by the sides, its machine guns barked while the main gun roared, kicking around itself dust and dirt. Suddenly, an energy projectile struck just below its hull, spitting out flames and black smoke. The tank halted, swiveling to the side to let the other vehicles some space to move forward. Another round struck its side armour platings, shooting out sparks on impact.

"Hostile air! Incoming!" He heard a Marine shouting.

Tearing his eyes off the tank, he gazed upwards and spotted the small formation of aerial digimon, diving down straight for them. He readjusted his aim at them, firing short bursts to eliminate or dissuade the enemy from getting any closer, other Marines joined them as they opened fire at the flying shock troopers.

"Dragon Impulse!"

An AeroVeedramon launched a dragon-like aura of energy towards the Marines on the ground. The dragon shaped aura opened its maw like it was about to swallow the humans as it dived downwards. Cyberdramon got out of cover and ran as far from the blast as possible but unfortunately the attack was much faster. Soaring through the air, it struck the M1A3 Abrams tank and exploded, the vehicle ripped to pieces and shot out hot melted metal around itself.

He felt a burning piece of lead puncturing through his armour, it was like having lava poured into his body. The cyborg digimon growled in pain, the piece of metal hissed and vapour flew out of the wound.

The AeroVeedramon and only a smaller number of imperials, whom survived the initial onslaught, swooped down and attack the digimon of the UAF head-on. The ultimate-level AeroVeedramon rammed into a group of UAF troops, deleting half a dozen of rookie-level digimon. Flamedramon got out from cover and sprinted towards the nearest Imperial with his bayonet brandished foward. He stabbed the blade deep into a Shutumon's back, earning a cry of pain and shock from the winged digimon. He retracted the blade out and another Marine gunned the digimon down with five shots to the chest. Turning around, Flamedramon spotted the AeroVeedramon taking out in quick succession and with brutal force friendly troops.

A fireteam of Marines surrounded the winged Veedramon and opened fire. AeroVeedramon snarled and used his armoured forearms to deflect most of the incoming rounds.

"V-Breath Arrow!"

A V-shaped heatbeam shot out of his wrist and hit three Marines in a row, burning them alive to a crisp in a matter of seconds. Their cries and screams of agony was unnatural and eerie, they helplessly and desperately tried to swat the fire away but it was fruitless. They seemed to dance around like lunatics as their uniform melted with their skin and flesh, the eternal fire eating and consuming them almost to the bone. Flamedramon watched on with horror, the images of these burnt men forever etched at the back of his mind. A fury began to rise from within, the adrenaline rush sped up. Filled with passionate rage, Flamedramon charged at AeroVeedramon, letting out furious battlecry.

The legionaire spun around and felt the bayonet digging through his ribcage. He howled in pain before retaliating with a swift punch across his opponent's face. Flamedramon's facemask flew off, revealing his fresh scars and blood running down his nostrils. The digimon Marine glared at his foe and spat his own blood at the ground, feeling the metallic taste at the back of his mouth. AeroVeedramon launched another strike, summoning the blades on his wrist and swiped diagonally. Flamedramon narrowly avoided them, stepping backwards so he could let the Marines shoot the other digimon.

The Marines had their opportunity and suppressed the hostile digimon, immobilising the target on the spot. Snarling in irritation, AeroVeedramon spanned his wings out and ascended above the Marines, preparing to unleash another attack. The humans quickly scattered behind cover before they could fire back. Flamedramon aimed for the wings, tearing up chunks of his wings off with a couple of bursts from the assault rifle. The aerial digimon groaned with a mixture of pain and boiling anger, turning around to solely focus on the bipedal dramon, eyes glaring daggers at him.

"V-Wing-"

"Moon Moon Shooter!"

A volley of highly sharp and huge needles perforated the winged digimon from below, ripping apart scales and flesh. AeroVeedramon fell helplessly from the sky, his wings badly hurt and now useless. The digimon hit the ground with a resounding crash but the fall didn't kill him. The winged Veedramon lied on the ground, gasping for air as pain numbed his entire body, rivers of blood gauged out of his hole riddled body.

Stingmon slowly walked up to him, staring down at him coldly. The Spike on his right arm sprung out before he swiftly plunged the blade through the Digicore, instantly killing the wounded digimon. Wordlessly, Stingmon walked away, regrouping with his teammates while leaving behind the lingering cloud of data particle.

"Thanks..." Flamedramon said tiredly.

The humanoid insect halted on his tracks and quietly looked back at the other digimon, "Don't mention it," He replied stoically.

Though a bit taken aback by the cold response, Flamedramon sensed that there wasn't any ill intention in the way he spoke up, he figured that he was naturally stoic or awkwardly unsocial.

* * *

The battle raged on as the day went on, there wasn't a single moment of peace like the other two days, the imperials were giving everything they've got to protect their home, to the very last digimon. The news of BlackSeraphimon's death had been shared to all forces, however the location of the two other Lord Generals still remained unknown to the coalition.

IDDF controlled areas were still dangerous, pockets of legionaire fighters were hiding in the ruins to ambush any unsuspecting soldiers. This was a war of attrition now, any dead or wounded they inflicted will be another blow to the troops' morale. In the afternoon, the IDDF and its allies finally managed to control one side of the riverbank, all six bridges were captured but Intel suggested that the enemy would soon come back in the evening to reclaim their lost territories.

The Marines set up their defenses as they prepared themselves for the night counter-attack. More troops and supplies were mobilised along the river frontline and to further add stress and to demoralise them, imperial snipers had been set at the otherside of the river, men and digimon now need to worry about sniper and aerial attacks.

From the second floor of a building, Shoutmon observed the humans as they continued to set up their defenses: machine gun positions, mortar emplacements and HMG firing points; all under the supervision of the officers.

The small draconic digimon sighed heavily after sensing another presence in the devastated room. The other digimon let out quiet footfalls as they stood beside him, hands clasped behind his back.

"You seemed to be troubled, your Majesty," The digimon spoke with a soft and angelic female voice.

Shoutmon chuckled tiredly, "It's been a long time since I've spoken to you," The other mysterious digimon hummed in agreement.

"Indeed, but times have been quite... difficult for the both of us," She told him softly, "I'm sure you can understand that,"

"Yeah well the war isn't going to end itself," He replied wryly, "Though I'm also sure you're not here just to pay me a visit, especially in a warzone, snipers are picking off the unlucky ones. That would be unnatural of you to have bad timing,"

The angelic digimon giggled lightly, earning a small smile to cross Shoutmon's face, "You know me all too well, Shoutmon, but yes, I've come here for an entirely different reason," She paused for a moment, letting Shoutmon a small measure of peace before she spoke on the matter.

"Other than aiding the refugees, I've been sent to relieve a curse on a certain human," Shoutmon's eyebrow raised with curiousity.

"A curse?" He asked, now intrigued.

"Yes, the particular human is developping some sort of poisoning of Virus origin. In other words, he's affected by our data,"

"Affected? Do you mean he isn't supposed to be cursed?"

"Exactly... when cursed a human is only rendered permanently blind for they are made of real flesh and blood, not data like us Digimon. But this human managed to be affected by it, and thus he is slowly dying from within," She explained in serious tone, something that was rare on her part.

"Is this curse contagious?" Shoutmon asked with worry, carefully eyeing the humans to spot this affected one.

"Fortunately no, but there's more... Recently, he's having lucid nightmares. The humans can only diagnose him with some case of post-traumatic stress disorder but this is something much greater. He is having visions, not nightmares,"

"And you think that his visions can become a reality?"

There was long pause from the angel digimon, she seemed to be bothered by the matter, something that's starting to worry the king of the Green Zone.

"This war is only the beginning, Shoutmon," She stated mysteriously, plainly avoiding his question, "More misery and destruction is to come in the near future. I sadly cannot reveal more for God is watching my every move. I wish of you to be careful and be prepared for the worst. The humans may be our allies but they bring a great danger with them, something far more dangerous and powerful than their weapons and bombs..."

For the first time in ages, Shoutmon felt fear, fear of the uncertain future that his old friend has predicted. If anything she said was true, than he better make sure he's prepared for this unknown danger, the DigiWorld is still in grave danger, a ticking bomb is about to set his world to flames and probably the Real World with it. He closed his eyes pensively before reopening them and looked around him, the angelic digimon long gone.

"I really hate when she does that..." He murmured bitterly.

Rapid metallic footfalls echoed from the corridor, the clatter of armour plates and the creaks of the wood planks grew louder as the figure approached his location. Calmly turning to the doorway, he saw a Zubaeagermon halting in mid-stride once they've found their king and leader. The Vaccine Digimon bowed down while breathing heavily.

"Your Majesty, the Royal Knight Craniamon wishes for your presence in the command tent," The fairly young digimon reported dutifully.

"Tell him I'll be there in a few minutes," Shoutmon instructed the Champion-level digimon.

"HAI!" The four-legged digimon responded eagerly and quickly ran back down the stairs, accidentally tripping down and crashing onto the floor, "I'M OKAY!" He shouted as he left the building.

Shoutmon simply laughed at the digimon's antics. More questions came through his mind that uneased him; who is this affected human? What are the dangers? What if he isn't cured? Unfortunately he has no answers to these questions, he simply shoved them to the back of his mind for there are more pressing issues at the moment.

* * *

 _Sekibetsu River, 2245 hours._

For the past hour, the combined air forces had been bombarding the enemy non-stop, bright flashes of explosions span across the district, more black smoke rose to the night sky while the district was lit in a hellish fire. The Marines watched the flames and explosions in silence, it was their fireworks show, they gazed at it in silence, such devastating attacks was the norm for these men, men used to the war.

However they knew that these airstrikes did little to the enemy's morale, they will be coming for them, there was nothing that can truly halt the Imperial war machine.

From a building facing the bridge, Raymond observed the perimeter with a pair of night vision binoculars, a machine gun fire team and a riflemen squad of Marines were in the same room, overwatching the riverbank in silence with their night vision goggles on. Sullivan stood just next the company commander, using a night vision monocular to spot any hostile units.

The silence was almost eerie, too quiet for the Marines and digimon on the ground while the airstrikes raged on in the distance. They waited for the inevitable, holding their breaths while surveying their surroundings cautiously.

Raymond gently pulled Sullivan down, ducking behind the wall of sandbags and Marines. The Marines tensed up and readied themselves, their weapons up and ready to shoot on their captain's order.

"They're here, crossing the river, dozens of them while a large group is being assembled at the otherside of the bridge," Raymond notified in a whisper while pointing at the ripples being formed at the river, "Call in an artillery strike at the other side of the bridge up to a three hundred meters up," He instructed Sullivan, "You open fire once they hit the shore," He ordered his Marines. Those on the ground had been notified prior the nightfall.

When the news finally reached the other units, the Marines got ready for the fight, their weapons were aimed at the bridge and down on the slope of the riverbank.

There were two dozen small rubber boats crossing the river, each carrying at least ten legionaires, two were paddling as quietly as possible, already fearing and wincing at the sight of the ripples they were creating. The first boat hit the riverbank, all ten legionaires dropped off to the side, some landed on the water, eminating loud splashes. They quickly pulled the boat further onto the shore before they slowly crept up the slope with the others arriving and disembarking.

A loud crack abruptly cut through the tense silence, a green streak of light flew straight into an imperial trooper's chest, the sudden force threw them to the ground with a rain of blood bursting out of their chest. The second later, all hell broke loose, the imperials were mowed down by a storm of green and red tracers fired by machine guns and rifles. From the sky, high pitched wails as artillery shells dived on the imperials gathered at the other end of the bridge, crushing and pounding them with metal and fire.

Already ambushed, the imperials panicked and charged blindly at their enemy, the bullets and artillery strikes chewing through their numbers. Like a furious swarm of bees, the bullets cut through their ranks and mowed through them mercilessly and relentlessly. Casualties were high in a matter of minutes.

"Keep on pouring at 'em, Marines! Get them what they deserve! Give 'em hell!" Raymond encouraged loudly through the loud barks and roars of weapons.

The once empty road was soon illuminated by the muzzle flashes and explosions from the humans' weaponry. Farther back from the frontline, Shoutmon, among a handful others, watched with shock and awe the ongoing firefight. In awe because of the bright flashes caused by the humans and their display of firepower on a short notice, in shock and fear because they threw hell and fury on digimon like a warhammer, knowing deep down that he could be at their place and mercy. So many lives were extinguished in seconds. Humans were both terrifying and interesting to him.

Behind him was Craniamon, quietly observing the battlefield, his hands held firmly his tower shield and double bladed spear. The digimon acted as the support role for the humans, in case they retreated and needed to eliminated targets in close combat. But to him, they seem to handle themselves quite well, much to his dismay.

The Imps let out a war cry as they desperately pushed through the volley of bullets and shower of shells and missiles. Digimon were riddled, peppered, dismembered, blown up and torn apart to pieces, the river slowly took on a much darker coloration as blood flowed down the riverbank and bridge. The wails of severely wounded legionaires were equally matched with the roars of weapons.

From their position at the building, the floor began to be piled up by empty bullet casings and ammunation boxes. Ammo was running low, logistics were quick enough to re-supply the men in time but soon they'll have to fall back. Quite ironic given the fact they had the upperhand. This wasn't a battle after all, it was a massacre, a turkey shoot; for the past thirty minutes of the chaotic slaughter, Raymond had only of five casualites so far, all wounded.

Raymond crouched down to reload his carbine. He heard a hiss just next to him, he glanced to his left and saw Cyberdramon changing the red hot barrel for another one. Once he reinserted the new barrel, the digimon racked the bolt back only for it to be stuck mid-way. The digimon tried again and again and again until he cursed and checked his weapon with scrutiny, groaning in frustration.

"What's the matter?" Raymond asked loudly.

"MG's jammed, sir! Don't know why!" Cyberdramon replied truthfully, struggling to pull the bolt back.

"Let me see," The captain demanded as he gently took the machine gun out of Cyberdramon's grasp.

He grabbed a flashlight and peered into the feed and barrel, the inside was completely melted shut, much to his surprise.

"Weapon's useless, Marine, you somehow melted the insides," He said as he ditched the machine gun aside, "Try to find an-"

"HIT THE DECK!"

Raymond felt himself being tackled to the ground meters away from his original spot. An earth-shattering explosion and intense heat suddenly struck the room, his ears went deaf, high-pitched bells rang in his ears. He felt a heavy weight on him and some kind of warm liquid spilling on his uniform. He slowly opened his eyes, his senses completely blurred and looked around. He tried to move the weight off him only for it to reply with a pained groan. Realising there was someone on him, he slowly pushed them aside, sat up and gazed to his right.

"Oh fuck,"

Blood poured out of Cyberdramon's mouth as he struggles to breathe, his body twitching uncontrollably and wincing in enormous pain. Most of his armour had been burnt, melted with his skin, or punctured by several sharpnels. His wings were broken, the left one being ripped to pieces.

"Corpsman!" Raymond shouted as he began to nurse the digimon's wounds, if he could. Cyberdramon's status was severe, he could die in the next few minutes. Blood poured out of him.

"h-h-he-lp m-m-" Cyberdramon struggled to speak up, his mouth quivering and teeth gritted, trying to suppress the pain and stay awake.

"Just focus on staying awake, Cyberdramon, I'm getting you out of here,"

Raymond began to pull on the digimon's plate carrier's shoulder straps, making him whimper as his skin began to peel off with his melted armour. Raymond stopped when he noticed the damage he was doing.

"Goddamnit – CORPSMAN! MEDIC!" He shouted angrily.

He spotted two Marines at the back, ammunation boxes with them. They both halted in their jog and watched the room with shock, mouths agaped at the state of the room.

"Get me a stretcher instead of gawking!" He ordered them furiously.

The Marines dropped the ammo boxes and complied to the order, searching for a foldable stretcher around. A minute later, they came back with one and unfolded it, then helped Raymond to get the wounded digimon on it. Raymond noticed that Cyberdramon's silhouette seemed to glitch, data started to fly away from him.

"Come on! Pick up the pace and get him to a digi medic asap!" He instructed urgently, knowing that the digimon only had minutes to live.

Craniamon mobilised his task force after the devastating imperial artillery barrage, Shoutmon gathered his troops as soon as Craniamon flew off to the frontline. The humans were pulling back, the enemy has the advantage of the chaos.

"Is everyone assembled?" He asked Dorulumon.

"Hai! All units are present and ready for battle." The four-legged digimon reported stoically.

"You know the mission, hold the enemy until everyone made it to the secondary line,"

With a nod, Dorulumon led the company of UAF soldiers into the fray. Shoutmon watched on with dread at the turning point of the battle, the enemy had managed to punch through their defenses.

"Fall back! Fall back!" Dukeman yelled, kicking a Marine out of his hiding spot, "Go! Go! Go!"

Just behind him, the Royal Knight Strike Force engaged the enemy in hand-to-hand combat while a handful of Marines provided support and cover fire for the others. He spun around and fired three quick bursts at hostile troops from his M16A4 rifle. He parried a bayonet strike from a Sealsdramon and struck them with the butt of his rifle before plunging his bayonet through their chest. He pulled the blade back and stabbed them a second time for good measure.

He felt three rounds whizzed behind him and two bodies fell to his right. He turned around and spotted Raymond with his sidearm out.

"Now you owe me," Raymond joked with a small grin.

"Fuck you, I don't, you owed _me_ ," The Gunnery-Sergeant shot back, eliminating another target.

"Bullshit, that time didn't count," The Captain responded while reloading his M45 pistol.

The two Marines covered each other's back, taking out one target at a time like automated machines, switching from one target to another, swaping out their weapon when necessary and crouching behind cover when needed.

Shortly after UAF troops joined the battle, joining the Strike Force to hold off the enemy while the humans regrouped at the secondary line where the tanks were in position to provide heavy support.

"We need to go, sir!" Dukeman advised urgently.

"I know!" Raymond retorted. A light, metallic thud landed between them, his eyes widened in realisation, "FRAG!" He yelled.

Time slowed down all of the sudden, his instincts and training kicked in at the same time, his guts told him to run while his mind told him to jump out. He did neither. As Dukeman dived for the ground, he grabbed the grenade and threw it at the air. He watched the round object being flung upwards, his right hand lifted to shield his eyes while he let himself fall on the ground.

The hand grenade detonated, a fiery flash bursted out of its metal shell, broken into hot pieces of shrapnels and spreading out widely.

Then time resumed its course when he hit the ground.

He felt a fragment being lodged into his right thigh, burning his flesh away. He screamed and pulled his pistol up when a BanchoLeomon started to charge at him. He fired four shots, only one hit the target, staggering the bipedal lion but not killing them. His pistol clicked empty.

"Fuck!"

He rolled to the side, narrowly dodging the large blade aimed to impale his chest. He got up and tackled the digimon to the ground, pulling out his KABAR knife in the process. He lunged the blade at their throat only to be caught in mid-action. The two warriors struggled for the upperhand, BanchoLeomon slowly pushed the knife away, surprised of the human's strenght.

BanchoLeomon threw a swift punch at his face. He fell off the digimon, his head dizzy and dazed. The beast digimon grabbed Raymond's throat and lifted him off the ground while in their other hand they held the tantō.

"You fight well, human, however it is time for you to die," BanchoLeomon stated with a sadistic toothy grin.

"Go to hell!" Raymond let go of the grenade's pin, releasing a 'ping'. He held the grenade up and dropped it at their feet.

The digimon yelled and threw the human away before it exploded at their feet, severing their legs off and spilling their organs on the ground. Raymond wailed after he landed on his wounded leg. He clutched it with his hands, seeing the blood flow out of his combat trousers. Cursing and admist the chaos, he got up and painfully made his way back in the building.

He closed the door behind him and rested against the wall. He was in pain, confused and lost. He was pretty sure that now the Marines were already at the secondary line with the digimon; in other words, he's behind enemy line.

"Great..." He muttered bitterly and slowly marched up the staircase. He might as well do something to cripple the enemy while he's still here, give them a metaphorical _"_ _fuck you"_.

Reaching in the same destroyed room he was half an hour ago, he carefully and quietly made his way to the shattered windows, making sure to keep himself low to avoid being caught. There was another whole battalion's worth of legionaires crossing the bridge, they were amassing their strenght to overtake this bridge.

Intel suggested they would spread their forces apart to hopefully capture all five bridges. Looks like that intel was false.

"Christ..."

He looked around for his scattered PLD. He found the device being buried under a rubble and took it without emitting a sound. His hopes however were gone when he found out that it was crushed by the rubble, not buried. He sighed and simply took his radio out.

"Phoenix 2, Phoenix 2, this is Alpha-Actual, do you copy?" He whispered, fearing the worse. No reply. He repeated again while carefully observing outside enemy activity.

 _"Alpha-Actual, this is Phoenix 2, we're reading you, over."_ He breathed out in relief at the reply.

"Phoenix 2, fire mission on grid: Bravo Hotel 092 108 096, a whole battalion of foot and armour in the open, H.E in effect 10 rounds, danger close. Over," The artillery radio operator repeated the order with hesitation.

 _"Uh, Alpha-Actual, you want us to shoot the bridge down?"_

"Affirmative, that's the only way to cut them off before they overrun us. Now fire for effect, over,"

 _"Roger that, package's out in 20 seconds, over,"_

A crash suddenly broke the silence. Rapid footsteps and shouting came from the staircase from below, probably a squad of soldiers coming up towards his location. Cursing, he adjusted himself behind some moderate cover and reloaded the M45 pistol before he aimed it at the door. A single wooden door stood between him and an unknown number of hostiles.

His gaze hardened, his senses tensed and mind focused behind the pistol, they were here. Silence fell for a short moment before the door was kicked open. The first shot rang in the room, one body fell with blood and brain matter splattered everywhere. Four shots roared next, two missed Raymond while the two others mortally wounded an Imperial. And then Hell fell from night sky.

The ground trembled violently as the artillery shells hammered the enemy in a spectacle of huge explosions, destruction, death and doom. The hostile squad panicked as they were near the shelling area, the building shaking uncontrollably, threatening to collapsed on its own in any second. Raymond used this opportunity to finish off the wounded trooper with a bullet to the chest and fired two more rounds at the other. The last legionaire fired back frantically, retreating behind cover while his comrade cried in pain. He fired the last two rounds at the doorway, suppressing them. He quickly ejected the spent mag out and took a fresh one, his last one.

The wounded imperial pulled out their sidearm and opened fire, missing most of their shots. The M45 snapped as the round was chambered in, Raymond killed them before focusing on the last one. At the same time, the legionaire sprung out of cover, assault rifle in hand and ready to shoot. They pulled the trigger, automatic fire barked louder than the pistol, bullets flew at both direction. They fell down the stairs, dead before they even hit the floor.

Raymond let out a pained and raspy gasp. Two out of three rounds hit him, penetrating the kevlar plate and into his ribcage. He let go of his pistol and instinctively held his chest, one hand searching for a field dressing while the other held onto the wounds. Fear began to surge in his mind, this was it for him, his instincts told him.

"F-f-fu-uck..."

He grunted as he tries to open the plate carrier from the side to let the field dressing in. However his vision became hazy, he knew he was dying yet he struggled for a slimmer of hope to live. He felt cold suddenly, as if winter just came. He fell to his right, hitting the wooden floor with a heavy thud. His breathing was shallow, his eyes threatening to close before him. With one last effort and energy, he rolled himself on his back, staring blankly at the ceiling while waiting for death's slow embrace. He knew this would happen one day; he got too lucky for this world, too many close calls.

One last eased breath escaped his mouth before his eyes closed, resting forever.

* * *

The artillery bombardment was the firepower the humans and digimon needed to halt the enemy wave. The opposition force was cut in half, the legionaires' morale dropped instantly and ran away, their officiers screamed at them to bring back unit coherency but were quickly eliminated by the humans. The Marines cheered and roared victoriously, their spirits gone up as they gunned down the retreating enemy force, the tanks and mortars launched death from above, pounding the imperials into bloody pulps.

Craniamon stoically watched the Marines angrily spewing out profanities while they gun down every imperial like helpless preys. They held no mercy, no imperial was spared in the ensuing onslaught. The Royal Knight tore his gaze away from the battlefield and looked back at the makeshift medical station. Casualties began to pile up, wounded on stretchers were being carried over to the station frequently, medical extract was busy from across the frontline, only two helicopters were dedicated for this station to evac and supply the station.

The battlefield slowly died down, the humans were given a moment of respite. He walked along the wall of sandbags and soldiers; most of them smoked, relieving some of the stress while others were on guard duty or slept on the ground. Few Marines looked back at him and gave him a nod. The purple knight finally made to the command tent, where only a Marine Captain and his XO were present.

The two Marines were exhausted and dirty. Their green-ish uniform were covered and tainted by dirt, sweat and blood. The officer, Captain Middendorf, perked up and seemed to be momentarily surprised by his presence before he returned to his usual frowned face.

"Captain," Craniamon greeted respectfully, "First Lieutenant," Both officers saluted back at him, "Where are the others?" He asked while looking around and making his way to the table displaying the map of the sector.

"First Lieutenant Itami is on his way with the king Shoutmon. As for Captain Raymond... I have no idea," Middendorf stated with worry, "I've sent his XO to search for him. The company sergeant is... in really bad shape as we speak," He explained solemnly.

"Is he going to make it?" Craniamon enquired neutrally, "The company sergeant I meant,"

"He should make it but I don't know if he's fit for duty. He got stabbed to the lower torso by a sword ," Middendorf replied honestly.

The tent's flaps lifted upwards as Itami, Tomita and Shoutmon arrived. Shortly later, Sullivan came back with a frown. Middendorf asked him if Raymond was around, the executive officer shook his head. Alpha Company has lost its commander. He's either KIA or MIA.

"Do you think that he was the one that called in that artillery strike?" First Lieutenant Briggs asked as a hypothesis.

"Don't know but we need to regather our strenght before we can make a push to recapture the objective," Middendorf stated.

"I think it's pointless, captain, "Shoutmon spoke up, "The bridge's half destroyed now, no one's getting through that way,"

Middendorf sighed and rubbed his messy and sticky hair in frustration, "Lieutenant Sullivan, from now on, you'll be temporary commander of Alpha company until we can find Raymond or confirm his death. I'll try to contact Overlord and request any help from them,"

"Should I tell the men about this?" Sullivan asked with uncertainty. The captain replied with a nod. The XO straightened his back and gave a sharp salute before leaving the tent.

After a couple of minutes of debriefing, everyone left the tent except for Craniamon and Middendorf, whom didn't noticed the Royal Knight staying in his spot. The human sighed and ungracefully sat on an ammo crate. His head hung down, resting on his hands.

"Is everything all right, captain?" The man got startled when the digimon spoke up.

"Uh...I... yeah, just fine..." He lied with an exasperated sigh, "Didn't notice you were still here... Scared the shit out of me,"

"I apologised if I've startled you, it wasn't in-" He was interrupted when Middendorf chuckled tiredly.

"You don't need to be so formal now and you don't need to apologise. No harm's done here,"

"Very well. However I do need to note that you seemed disturbed about something. Is something bugging your mind?" The Royal Knight with genuine concern.

"Heh, you got me there," The officer admitted dryly before he sighed, "That was a massacre out there... the Imps just kept running straight at us... like pigs sent to the slaughter house... I've lost so many men back there, butchered by these... fanatics... monsters..."

Craniamon had seen it, he had seen the face of lost men, their spirits shaken by the violences of war. It is rare for a digimon to have battle fatigue but with humans, despite their ferocity in battle, they are relatively frail creatures compared to them, he knew by seeing them that once they'll go back home, they will be forever changed because of the war. Their souls had been torn and lost to the war.

Middendorf coughed and silently got up. He headed for the flaps and lifted them open before he looked at his watch and then at the digimon.

"By the way... Happy Halloween," He said with a tired grin and left the digimon alone in the tent.

The Royal Knight simply chuckled to himself while shaking his head. Somehow some humans haven't lost their sense of humour.

* * *

 _Imperialdramon General Hospital, Tokū Solis._

Once the helicopter landed, the team of combat medics jumped out of metal bird with their dying patient on the stretcher.

The civilian hospital was soon turned into a military emergency centre after its capture. Wounded digimon and humans crowded the halls of the hospital, medical personels ran left and right with supplies or stretchers. Outside were rows of black, blue and drab olive bodybags, waiting to be lifted away by transport helicopters.

The team bursted through the double doors, everyone quickly stood aside, letting them aside and pass through the busy hall.

"Make way! Make way!" The medic at the lead shouted as they had for the nearest station.

Duskmon inspected the severe wounds of a human soldier, a Canadian, with a third degree burn on his left arm and left part of his face and a bullet through his right kneecap, the bone completely shattered to pieces and possibly turned into powder. Next to him were two of his assistants, nursing the wounds of the man.

The door abruptly bursted open, catching the stares of some of the medical staffs, including his. The humans laid the stretcher on an empty bed and began to nurse the wounds of the digimon.

"We need a digimon physician over here!" One of the medics demanded urgently.

"Make sure to stop the bleeding on the kneecap and give him another shot of morphine," He instructed to one of his assistants before making his way to them, "What's his status?" He asked while examinating the wounded Cyberdramon.

"Severe third degree burns everywhere on him, his armour has melted with his skin and multiple shrapnel wounds to the back and chest, he's losing a lot of blood," The lead combat medic reported quickly but clearly.

"Did you give him morphine?"

"No sir, he's in too much pain but I was afraid that he'll die from exhaustion, we had no choice,"

Duskmon nodded in approval, these men did the right thing despite having zero training on digimon biology and medical proccedures, "You did good, Corporal, I'll handle this from here," The medics nodded obediently and left the expert to the task. "Sorcerimon!" He called out.

The white sorcerer arrived in short notice, standing at attention before him. His white clothes and cape were tainted with dirt and blood, both dry and fresh. His old thick leather gloves were replaced with another pair of blue elastic gloves, recently clean to wash off the blood of a prior patient. His hat was also gone, a simple white hair cover kept his messy blonde hair in place.

"I need you to stabilise him while I get a team to move him to the emergency area," Duskmon instructed flatly,"Looks like we have to revert him back to his rookie form,"

"You're going to revert him?" Sorcerimon asked in surprise, "Are sure the revert machines even work? I thought they were broken,"

"But one is still intact, we have enough power to use it at its full capacity," Duskmon informed him before he left the white wizard to his task.

Sorcerimon summoned his staff and casted a slow healing spell on Cyberdramon, it won't do much but it will stabilise the bleeding and keep him alive longer.

"Hang in there, we'll get you fixed in no time,"

Cyberdramon didn't reply, his body kept trembling uncontrollably, coughing violently as blood spat out of his mouth, his mouth quivered, he couldn't talk, couldn't breath properly and extremely cold. Sorcerimon noticed and looked around for a thermal blanket. He searched through the cabinets and found one. He ran back to Cyberdramon, ripped the plastic packaging and laid out the blanket on him.

"T-thanks..." Cyberdramon weakly said gratefully.

Shortly after, he was carried away by medical staff to the emergency station, where they will try to revert him back to his rookie form, hopefully the wounds inflicted to him wouldn't transfert to that form. This was their last chance to save him. This also meant that he won't be able to digivolve back to Cyberdramon conventionally.

An hour has passed and his shift ended, he was given an hour break before his unit will be mobilised to a refugee camp out of the city, away from the frontline.

Sorcerimon stood outside, silently staring from afar the hectic and ongoing battle. War has changed since the humans intervened, gone were the days of battles fought in large open fields, where armies would clash and fight for a day and rest for another. Warfare now became faster paced, more intense, more mobile, dynamic and involved sea, air and land. Conventional troops fought in fixed positions, aided by air and artillery support while spec ops units were sent behind enemy line, sabotaging the enemy or assassinating their leader. War has become more destructive, more deadly. It has become a total war.

Near him were two humans, chatting amicably while smoking. The digimon occasionally glanced at their direction. They seemed so lax, seemingly forgetting of the horrors in the hospital and far ahead of them. Humans are weird creatures. Sorcerimon sighed and slowly walked towards them.

The two combat medics stopped chatting as soon as Sorcerimon approached them. They were from different nations, as the digimon noticed by the small flag patch on their sleeves, one was an Australian while the other was an American.

"Need somethin' friend?" The American adressed with a friendly smile while the other took a puff of smoke.

"Yeah... Do you have a cigarette left?" Sorcerimon asked tentatively. The humans looked at each other in surprise before they chuckled, the Australian dug into his trousers' pocket to take out one cigarette and gave it to the digimon.

"Didn't know digimons could smoke," The Aussie said while lighting up the tip of the smoke for him.

"Oh they do," Sorcerimon confirmed as a matter of fact, "I don't," He added with a sly grin.

"Shit, so this is your first time, huh?" The American asked curiously.

"Yeah," Sorcerimon replied before taking a whiff of the cigarette.

He suddenly felt the nicotine entering his throat, almost burning his throat, before polluting his lungs. He immediately coughed dryly and violently, a tear ran down his cheek while the humans laughed.

"D-d-damn... t-that's a-wful!" He said before inhaling it carefully.

"Mate, you're takin' like a champ' " The Australian said, although his strong accent was hard for the digimon to understand him.

"What did you said?"

The American chuckled, "He said you're taking it like a champ, despite being your first time,"

Sorcerimon shrugged casualy, "Yeah well, I needed something to calm my nerves,"

"Amen," The two humans replied.

* * *

 _... Unknown..._

Fierce firefights echoed behind him, his heartbeat drumming into his ears, his breath unsteady and rapid, his body aching and screaming for a break. His feet led him somewhere. His eyes darted left and right, checking his surroundings as he crosses the empty street.

He ran down the staircase to the metro tunnel. He turned his flashlight on as he slowed down his pace, realising that his steps echoed painfully loudly in the tunnel. He moved the light around him, abandonned luggages scatter the tiled floor, vending machines and garbage bins were thrown on the ground, the ceiling lights were either dead or flickered dimly.

He unconsciously walked through the eerie silent metro, his footsteps still echoing loudly. He seemed to be pull towards some kind of force, as if it commanded him, beckoning him towards it. Walking down the lone corridor, he noticed that the place was flooding, evident by the small droplets of rain water on the ceiling. Moving deeper into the tunnel and the water level was slowly rising up to his ankles, his footsteps echoed much louder thanks to the constant splashes of water that he made, but somehow he didn't care about this.

He later had to jump into the flooded rails to get across the platform, the water reached up to his hip. He crawled his way through the water, making too much noise for his comfort, only amplified by the echoes. He grabbed onto the platform and lifted himself off the rails and onto relatively dry land, now half of his uniform was drenched.

He continued to march to his unknown destination. He was even beginning to question reality. Where was he? Why is he here? Where is he going? And why? These questions were soon shoved away at the back of his mind; he has a mission to accomplish.

A flight of stairs greeted the Marine, total darkness awaited him on the next level. Cautiously, he walked up the steps, his weapon up and ready to shoot at any hostile. Once he made it up, his flashlight was his only source of light in this very dark corridor.

Fear started to grip his mind, his guts tied into multiple knots, his consciousness yelling at him to turn back. He had a bad feeling. But his training kicked right in, shoving his fear aside and replaced it with courage and determination. Duty comes first for the Marine. He released a shaky breath and moved on.

The corridor seemed to be endless, he had been walking in a straight line for over five minutes. He was getting irritated with it. His hands gripped the weapon more firmly. Then a faint sound echoed back at him. It wasn't his footstep nor the droplets of water, it sounded like a growl. He continued forward with more caution until his flashlight flickered and eventually shut off. He groaned and checked his equipment while slowly walking in complete darkness.

A sickening crunch halted him in his stride. His right foot landed on something really hard. He moved away and stepped on something softer while emanating a disgusting 'squirt' sound. A horrendous smell suddenly assaulted his nose, hot tears streamed down his cheeks as he tries not to gag. His flashlight turned on and revealed the water having a dark, red shade. His eyes widened in realisation that the water turned to blood, a literal river of blood. He looked at his feet and gasped in horror when he noticed a body part on the ground, the very one he stepped on. It ressembles an opened skull with the brain splattered out on the floor and due to the size, he made the shocking conclusion the corpse belonged to a child.

But the horrors didn't end there.

Slowly, moving his light to different direction, more corpses appear, piled up, ripped apart, shredded, clawed open, scattered with the guts and intestines displayed on the ground, pieces of flesh or members floating in the river of blood and they just keep appearing, getting larger in number as he moved the light ahead of him. Only to have a huge mass blocking the way. A creature he hadn't seen before.

Thankfully it had its back facing him but even from that, he was petrified with fear. The creature was enormous in size, thick layer of dark brown fur coated the beast with a pair of large dark bat-like wings spruted out on its back. Two long and thick horns were sticking out from the back of its head. Its arms were large and so were its legs, the beast was currently crouching, its hands near its face, probably feasting on the corpses. Eating the civilians and soldiers around it.

The light shining from behind caught its attention. It slowly turned around with a deep and menacing growl, like a predator protecting its fresh meal. Two crimson eyes glared at him with uncontrollable animosity and ferocity yet he knew this demonic beast was sentient, unlike a savage animal. Deep scars were etched across its face, chains wrapped around its forearms with golden gauntlets on its hands. Deep red marking were on its massive and muscular chest.

The creature's growl grew louder, steam puffed out of its nose while blood and flesh seeped out of its bloodied maw. He had interrupted its meal and he was going to pay for it. The beast fully faced him, taking one step forward, completely flattening a corpse with its right foot. Its fur was covered in the blood of its victims and it is seeking for more.

For the first time in many years, Stephen was scared, horrofied and unable to move. Panic has short-circuit his mind, disabling any reasonable or logical thinking. Fear struck deep in his heart, his breathing quickened, his legs shaking, hands trembling, he could barely hold his carbine up. He felt helpless, desperate, afraid... like a coward.

"S-s-s-stay b-b-back..." He choked after long seconds of being speechless.

The demonic entity almost grinned maliciously, as if mocking him and his cowardice.

"A sheep..." It said in a deep, throaty voice, "Like the others... Pathetic... Cowards..."

In a blink of an eye, it launched at him, maws wide open and arms sprung out. Stephen stood and watched helplessly to his horror as the creature was about to chew him in half.

Then everything went black.


	39. Chapter 38

Chapter 38:

Torn Souls and Bodies

 _Unknown specific location, Tokū Solis, November 3rd 2019._

Raymond woke up with a surprised gasp and in cold sweat. He panted heavily while his right hand instinctively reached for his heart, feeling it beating at several miles per hour. After calming and retaking his breath, Stephen looked around him, not recognising the environment before taking a look at himself. Recent scars, in the form of bullet wounds, were near his heart, adding the tally to the other scars around his body. He then noticed, much to his embarrassment, that he was almost naked, only his black boxers remained.

Humiliated, he quickly searched for his uniform and gear. He swept his legs to the side, over the makeshift bed he was on and got up. He spotted a small desk and a wooden cabinet near the bed at the corner of the small, concrete room. As he puts on his combat trousers – still dirty and damped – he observed the room he was in. Had he been captured by the enemy? A prisonner for interrogations? It didn't make any sense to him if _they_ left his equipment with him. Maybe he was retrieved by another friendly unit.

Either way, the room was a dump to say the least. The place was damp and dusty, cracks were visible on the walls, the cheap ceiling lantern was the only source of light in the room. A single white, wooden door separated him from the unknown.

He grabbed his combat shirt, the door opened, causing him to instinctively snatch his M45 pistol on the desk, turning around with the weapon up, locked and loaded, ready to pull the trigger – only to abruptly halt in mid-action once his eyes gazed on a frightened, pale little girl.

She was trembling intensely, gripping her golden trident like a scared puppy. She looked like a nun, wearing a white priestess robe with a light pink klobuk in the shape of a cute rabbit on her head, draping down her back. The little girl had a small round, terrified face, her silver eyes matched her hair colour, innocent and naive. Contradicting the religious theme, she wore a pair of pure white high heel boots. She looked so frail, scared and naive, the embodiment of pure innocence.

Raymond immediately felt guilty and sorry for her. He slowly moved the gun away from her and lifted his hands upwards, showing sign of non-hostility. A reassuring smile graced his mouth.

"Hey there, sorry if I scared you, I do not mean any harm, alright?" He said in a friendly tone.

However the girl was too scared to think straightly and whimpered before yelling in panic: "Onēsan!"

Out of nowhere, a black blur leapt over her, through the doorway, rolled to the side and another nun appeared near Raymond, wielding two handguns, aimed at him. He swept his pistol towards the new visitor, glaring at her.

"Baissez votre arme et mains sur la tête!" She yelled sternly.

"You drop them first!" Raymond responded with a sneer.

The little girl helplessly looked between the two, not knowing what to do to stop the dangerous tension in the room. One wrong word or action could lead in a blood bath and two bodies on the floor; that thought made her gulp nervously.

The second nun was slightly taller than the girl, more or less two heads higher than her. She wore a traditional black nun robe with a black klobuk in the shape of a grinning cat. She seemed to be mature yet still looked incredibly young. She has the same hair and eye colour as the other nun.

"Stand your ground, Noir." A soft but commanding voice came from the doorway, breaking the tension.

The black nun scoffed and dropped her pistols, looking away with a pout. Raymond dropped his sidearm and faced the doorway, instantly awed at the appearance of another figure.

The woman towered over the two nuns and slightly Raymond. Like the two others, she wore a traditional religious robe with a golden toga wrapped and draped from her left shoulder and onto her chest, a red scarf wrapped around her neck only to be revealed as being a scroll floating behind her. She wore an octogonal religious hat made from eight golden slabs with Japanese kanji symbols and Digi-letters. Her light blonde hair hung behind her and just above her shoulders, perfectly complementing her fair and smooth skin while her warm golden eyes bore on him, comforting yet steely. Her light pink lips slightly curved upwards as she notices the human was gawking at her, evident by the faint red blush creeping on his cheeks.

She slowly made her way towards him, Raymond was too entranced to even think or speak. She was beauty incarnate. The floating scrolls and golden rings chimed as she walks bare feet, clean and fair, untainted by the outside world. Her hips swayed gracefully, her toga revealed a bit of her lustful cleavage, her breasts weren't too big nor too small, just perfect to make every men to desire them. She had the perfect silhouette accentuating her beauty and self-confidence, not to mention being extremly hot.

Stephen physically shook his head, trying to shake off any "unprofessional thoughts"; plus he just got a girlfriend and he is not going to lose her anytime soon.

"I see that you've fully recovered from your wounds, captain," Her angelic and soft voice spoke up, putting his heart at ease, "You should thank Sistermon Blanc and Sistermon Noir for nursing and patching you up."

Raymond looked at the two other digimon, both bowed down respectfully, though Noir seemed to still be pissed at him.

"Thank you, I mean it." He said gratefully before returning his gaze at Sanzomon, "You're from the Heavenly Choir, aren't you?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Indeed we are. We are sent on a mission towards the frontline to aid the digimon population." Sanzomon answered truthfully, eyeing the human in curiosity.

"I thought the Three Archangels made it clear that they do not want to partake in the conflict." Raymond said bitterly as he resumes to put his shirt back on, him and anything about religion don't go hand in hand.

"True but because of the war, Digimon are left behind with no shelter, no food and no medical-"

"We're trying our best to take care of that problem." He retorted while putting on his plate carrier, the bullet holes were still present which meant that the front kevlar plate was busted.

"Trying won't suffice, Captain," She said coldly and sharply, "The digimon are our top priority, winning the war is yours. With so much going on as of right now, your army can't simultaneously substain its soldiers and take care of the civilians. We're doing you a favour," She explained while her gaze hardened on the human, "As a messenger of God, it is my du-"

"I don't know if God really exists but I'm sure as hell that _your_ God is fake, a program of zeroes and ones like the rest of this world. Humans created this world, not God." All three priestresses were shocked and offended by his words.

Sanzomon always perceived the human as caring and understanding but seeing him being venomous and bitter towards God surprised her. This must be another side of him she hasn't predicted prior their meeting.

"Enfoiré..." Sistermon Noir muttered angrily, furious that the human would say such ignorant and blasphemous statement.

Feeling the tension rising in the room, Raymond picked up his equipment and grabbed his helmet, ready to leave this place. Too bad that things got sour in the end, especially in front of such a beautiful woman, digimon or not.

"I'm grateful for your hospitality but I have a war to finish and Marines to lead." He said as he made his to the doorway; only to be blocked off by the two nuns.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, captain Raymond." He winced when she mentionned his rank _and_ last name. An angry woman is always bad news, at least that's what his father used to say.

"For you are still in need of medical help." He slowly turned around and looked at Sanzomon in confusion.

"Do I?" She nodded quietly.

"Do you remember your encounter with a NeoDevimon in the Green Zone?" She enquired while sitting on the edge of the desk, crossing her arms and overlapping her right leg over her left one.

"Yes..." He replied with some hesitation, vaguely remembering the siege of the Village of Smiles.

"Well, if my memories serve me right, you were hit by one of his attacks," She began, Raymond nodded to confirm her statement, "One of your men also got hit by it and he was permanently blind while you were fine. Doesn't that seem odd to you?"

"What are you trying to say here?" Raymond asked back, getting impatient.

"A NeoDevimon can either use their claws to brainwash or suck away data of a digimon or send a curse to its victims. The curses can only happen in this World, thus humans are not affected to some of their attacks, in some way. Since humans are not made up of 'zeroes and ones'... " She gave a quick glare at his direction before continuing, "They can only be permanently blinded. Which is not the case for you."

Raymond leaned his back against the wall next to Sistermon Blanc, taking the information into consideration; it all made sense to him but one question remains: is he cursed or not?

"Have you been receiving nightmares eversince your encounter with that digimon?" She asked rhetorically, knowning the answer. He nodded silently to confirm it, still shocked at the information.

"Vivid nightmares... yeah..." He said while staring blankly at the ground, "They felt so... real... like I've already experienced them... why?"

"That's because they are more than just lucid and intense nightmares, they are visions of a certain future."

 _"Fucking great..."_ He thought dreadfully.

"These nightmares represent a message, a warning of an incoming danger."

"But I can't remember them most of the time." Raymond stated, he was always bothered by the fact he can't remember some of the horrors he had seen in these nightmares, just a faint feeling of dread.

"That's the point, the victim will get confused and then will go in a state of insane paranoia, trying to prepare for the worst only to be caught off guard in the end." She explained coldly, getting up from the desk.

"And what about the constant vomiting?"

"That is another side effect of the curse that is deadly, its a poison that slowly overtakes your blood cells, supposedly data, but since you're a human, it cannot overtake your mind or heart, it can only destroy you from the inside by damaging your organs. You're vomiting your own blood," A headache and nausea soon hit Raymond, he can tell he is having a shitty time now, "If the curse doesn't kill you, than your own body will. Fortunately we can cure the poison."

"But not the visions, huh?" She nodded as a reply, "Guess some impending doom is about to happen then." He stated dryly.

"Would you kindly lie down?" She demanded softly and politely. Raymond obeyed her demand, walking to the bed. He was stopped by her, she pointed at his plate carrier and shirt. "Take those off." She instructed with a small sly smirk.

With a blush, he took them off, set them on the ground and lied down on the mattress, breathing calmly while staring at the concrete ceiling.

"Where are we exactly?" He asked out of the blue.

"Dans le sous-sol du bâtiment." Sistermon Noir answered while she, her sister and Sanzomon encircled him, only their heads appeared in his field of view.

"The same one where I was? Near the bridge?"

Noir simply shook her head as she takes out a vial of holy water. Sanzomon's scrolls floated around them, the Digi-letters began to glow while she started to chant a prayer, her eyes closed, her mouth spoke in an angelic voice, the rings chimed in a particular rhythm. Sistermon Blanc stabbed the bottom end on her trident on the ground, murmuring the chant with Sanzomon while Sistermon Noir applied holy water on his chest, where his heart is located at.

Raymond simply stared in wonder as the scrolls glowed of pure light, Digi-letters floated away and danced around him. He felt Sanzomon's soft and caring hands placed on his head and gently rubbed his skull – if this was a massage than he was enjoying the heck out of it as his eyes closed in peace, enjoying the warm and soothing sensation around him and inside of him, building up from within.

Two minutes of concentration later (two minutes of heavenly head massage in his case), the chant ended, the Digi-letters disappeared and the scrolls hazily floated back to Sanzomon.

"The curse has been lifted." Sistermon Blanc announced. He opened his eyes and saw to his left Noir holding the vial of holy water, now turned into a black sludge. "We have extracted the poison off of you with holy water to heal your wounds," The white nun explained.

Raymond smirked, "That's the second time you've saved my life, I owe you twice."

"Hé! Ne m'oublie pas! J'ai aussi sauvé ta vie!" Sistermon Noir remarked angrily with her arms crossed.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll also get you something in return, don't worry," He got up and put his shirt and plate carrier back on, "Thank you, again, for saving my life."

"We're just doing our duty, captain, just like you did out there when you sacrificed yourself for you men." Sanzomon stated with a hint of admiration.

"So I guess this is goodbye." He said almost sadly, no more sight-seeing now.

"Do not worry, we will meet again, but first you have a war to win while we have digimon to help," She picked his helmet from the ground and stared at it, holding it preciously in her hands, "Before you leave, promise me that you'll be careful out there, warn your people about this, prepare yourself and them for the future."

"Will do, ma'am...and I'm sorry for what I said earlier, didn't really meant it..." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, his cheeks heated.

"You are forgiven, Raymond." She said while the human got up, looking her in the eyes. She leaned forward, placing the helmet on top of him and adjusting the chin strap, "Stay safe, my hero." She whispered to his right ear and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek, his blush grew darker.

Sistermon Blanc was about to gasp in surprise at the sight but Sistermon Noir covered her mouth abruptly with her hand while the latter giggled softly.

"Now sleep, warrior." Sanzomon then whispered and on command, Raymond fell unconscious in her arms.

She let the sisters carry him away to drop him off to a designated location. After the two nuns left the room, a sad smile laid on her lips, another digimon appeared behind her from the shadows. The Gargoylemon had a mischievous grin while shaking their head in mock disapproval.

"Tsk, Tsk, it is forbidden to fall in love with a human, Sanzomon, you should know better."

"It was just a small kiss on the cheek, Gargoylemon." She responded in annoyance.

"But your heart speaks louder than your mind, that action meant more than 'just a kiss on the cheek'." Gargoylemon's grin grew wider.

"Gargo, I did not save your life, redeemed you from the Dark Area and recruited you in the Order so you can sass me non stop," She turned around with a mild glare, "And don't you dare speak about forbidden love, he who wanted to propose to a Angewomon." She shot back with a smirk.

Gargoylemon chuckled and raised his hands in defense, "Hey now, I was a young, foolish and love sick Devidramon at that time, I'm a different digimon now."

"How we managed to be friends during those times still boggles me," Sanzomon sincerely admitted, though he was a good friend despite being a demon, "Anyways, I'm guessing you're not here to annoy me with your remarks."

"Correct, in fact, I was sent to aid you to carry a package away." She looked at him in confusion.

"You meant the human?" He nodded. She sighed and face palmed, "You were late so I thought you'll never come, I had the sisters taking care of him,"

Behind his mask, Gargoylemon's eyes widened, he is going to be scolded and given a moral lecture from SlashAngemon once again for being late and not accomplishing his tasks.

"Damn it!" He quickly ran out of the room and turned right.

"They went left!" Sanzomon corrected him loudly.

"R-right! I meant left! I mean- Yeah!" She saw him running pass the door, giggling at her friend's antics. Despite being another digimon, he is still the same Devidramon she knew and befriended years ago.

"Still a doofus..."

* * *

 _Imperial District, Tokū Solis._

Since the early hours of the day, the sky turned grey and rained on the war torn city. The black trails of smoke still rose up from the ruins, the battle continued, intense firefights echoed from the city.

In the Imperial District, the IDDF and the digimon coalition have pushed further in the heart of the city, where the enemy fought with more tenacity and ferocity. The fight got more savage, brutal, unforgiving and hideous. Imperial troopers were now deploying suicide bombers, IEDs, trapped buildings and chokepoints, using civilians as living shields and committing atrocities before the very eyes of the humans, aimed to traumatize and break their morale.

The battle shifted to a deadly slaughter house in less than a week. A true Hell on Earth for the many soldiers of the IDDF. The fanatical and loyal legionaires managed hold their ground, the coalition surrounded and outnumbered them yet a stalemate was drawn on the map.

His armour clattered as the rain pelted down on them. Magnamon gazed at the ruins ahead of the trenchline, visibility slowly decreased with the heavy rain. The Marines and Army soldiers positioned across the line waited for the enemy. Three hundred meters away from them is the Imperial Senate, heavily guarded by a mixed force of the Honour Guard and the Defense Guard, another branch of the Honour Guard, along with a platoon of the Elite Corps.

Intel from the Reconnaissance Corps suggested that a large contingent of Imperials are bounding towards them, using large numbers to overrun the line.

Standing next to him was Duftmon with their task force standing at attention and ready for the upcoming fight. The knight of Miracles heard the tactician hiss in annoyance and looked to his right. Duftmon had pulled his blonde hair in front of him and twisted the water out much to his annoyance, his white wings were also damped, making them uncomfortable and heavy to fly with.

"Why can't they just surrender now? They know they're fighting a losing battle, they're throwing their troops into the fray blindly with no strategy behind... Primitive coming from a Tactimon," He remarked irritatedly.

Magnamon shook his head, "We're fighting in their own turf now, they're getting meaner and meaner as we move forward. They won't abandon home or let it fall, not without a fight." He stated as a matter of fact.

"Magnamon, we've been fighting in their territory since the beach landings and they're getting desperate as we move inland. They know they are losing. This doesn't make any sense. It will be wiser if the Emperor tried to negociate a surrender and spared millions of lives," Duftmon countered back sharply, his eyes narrowing venomously, "This massacre would have been avoided, these men could've gone home by the time we sign a peace treaty, this war could've ended sooner."

His response kind of surprised Magnamon, whom didn't expect Duftmon to be... caring about the men, women and digimon they were fighting alongside with. Has the war changed him? He thought so in amazement at this change of personality.

"Are you caring about us?" He spoke too soon, immediately regretting his poor choice of wording once he saw Duftmon eyes widened in shock before glaring at the knight.

"Of course I care about all of you. I may not consider you as my friends but you are my teammates. I want to spare as many lives as I can in this conflict and in the future, Magnamon, each life matters to me." He said with determination, purpose... and passion much to his surprise.

Magnamon went silent for a bit before he chuckled and rubbed his right arm sheepishly, "Gosh... I guess I owe you an apology for misjudging you all these years..."

The tactician narrowed his eyes at his fellow knight, "You've been misjudging me all these years, huh?"

The golden knight quickly raised his hands in defense, "H-hey! It's not my fault if you have a cold and solitary personality, i-it is quite hard to befriend you when you're always eyeing and criticizing us not to mention giving us the cold shoulder everytime."

"Of course I'm criticizing you, you all act like a bunch of rookies everytime!"

"That's not fair! We take our job seriously you know!"

"Oh by Yggdrasil just kiss already!" Complained a female Shinegreymon, earning herself baffled stares from her two superiors while some of the other task force members giggled.

Duftmon regathered his senses and fully faced her, staring sternly into her eyes, "Do not interfere with our conversations, Sergeant Shinegreymon, this will be your first and last warning."

She rolled her eyes and sighed, "Won't happen again, sire."

Magnamon gave a sympathetic look at the younger digimon and returned his gaze back at the battlefield, sensing the enemy approaching.

"Get ready, Marines!"

"Here they come!"

"Maintain fire discipline, long bursts, aim for the chest!"

The officers and NCOs barked out instructions and orders as the men and women in uniform got ready for battle. A heavy silence hung in the air, all weapons were locked and loaded, mortar and artillery support were online and ready to rain death on the enemy. All of the sudden, bullets, laser bolts and other projectiles flew all around them, the single, clear war cry of the legionaires echoed from the mist charging at the humans and allied digimon.

"Return fire! Fire at will!"

"Light 'em up! Do not let them get pass us!"

The barks of human rifles and machine guns joined the loud and chaotic cacophony of the battlefield. Enemy and friendly shells rained down, the ground erupted, buildings collapsed, explosions scattered across the urban environment, wounded men and digimon wailed and cried for help, blood was spilled on both sides in a matter of seconds.

"Shinegreymon! Call in CAS Beta! Use ranged attacks only!" Duftmon ordered firmly behind cover while Magnamon launched multiple volleys of rockets.

"Hai!" She replied and began to request air support from her communicator.

"All troops use ranged attacks only, take out the biggest targets!" Magnamon commanded, the task force obeyed and set up their ranged weapons.

Shortly after the battle began, human tanks arrived to the scene much to their relief, gunning down the enemy wave with heavy hitting bullets and high explosive shells. Like the other battles fought, it was an absolute carnage, heavy casualties were inflicted on both sides, ending with the complete annihilation of the enemy, no survivors remained, the humans mowed and chewed through them, no one was spared from their fury and will to put their foes in an early grave. Both sides fought with equal and almost animalistic savagery and ferocity.

Minutes of intense battle have passed and the enemy wave was utterly destroyed, not a single imperial survived, only clouds of data and pools of blood remained on the street. The human soldiers panted heavily, exhausted and some nearly collasped while others remained stoic, neutral.

"Check your ammo and fix bayonets!" Officers shouted across the line.

The men and women obeyed without a second thought, they stoically pulled out their bayonets and fixed it at the end of their rifle. A handful of them, mostly young humans, were shaking nervously, breathing nervously, trembling with fear. That firefight was only the beginning, the battle will get uglier.

Duftmon noted that the humans were getting impatient in their tactics to end the war. They advanced too quickly for their support and supplies to keep up, resulting in more casualties along the way. More men will perish of they keep up like this, he will witness more bloodshed where it could've been avoided. But he was also like them, he wanted the war to end as soon as possible, like a majority of digimon whom had fought for over a decade now in the conflict. However patience is key in this battle, the men will need some rest and respite. The Royal Knight simply sighed solemnly and prepared himself to get over the top and capture the Imperial Senate.

The tanks and light armoured vehicles rolled out to the other routes, flanking the main road to the Senate thus surrounding the cornered enemy. Two squadrons of attack helicopters flew overhead, shooting out rockets and spewing out heavy hitting lead at the enemy. Some of the soldiers and Marines cheered at them.

"Alright! Let's move out!"

"Let's go, Marines!"

"Move out! Move out!"

"Get your asses out of here!"

The humans got over their defenses and moved through the main road at a slow pace, weapons brandished forward, checking corners, crumbled buildings and narrow alleyways along the way. Ahead of the large force was a group of combat engineers, the most exposed and vunerable soldiers since they were occupied with sweeping the ground with their metal detectors, trusting and relying their lives to the men behind them. Magnamon, Duftmon and their task force walked among the humans, surveying their surroundings.

The military force abruptly halted when one of the engineers held their fist up. The soldiers scattered to the side of the road, kneeling and grasped their weapon tightly. The digimon simply followed suit and hunckered down with the other humans while the engineers were carefully digging the ground. A mine has been discovered. They placed two handgrenades next the improvised explosive device and ran back with the others.

"Fire in the hole! Fire in the hole!" One of them shouted.

Seconds later, the ground shook violently, a thick cloud of dust and ash rose up from the epicenter while pieces of concrete fell on the men and women harmlessly. The soldiers then continued their trek towards their objective, hearing the distinct thunderclaps and roars of the tanks and LAVs up ahead, already engaging the enemy and pinning them down.

All of the sudden a shot rang from across the street, one of the combat engineers fell on the ground motionlessly, half of their skull punctured by a bullet. A missile then flew at them before the humans could react. It soared pass Magnamon and hit the road meters behind him, throwing away half a dozen troops.

"Contact front!"

"Right side! Right side!"

"Hostiles to the left!"

Coming out of the ruins and rubbles were a hundred legionaires, melee weapons brandished and ready to spill blood. The soldiers and Marines quickly responded, gunning down the incoming assailants before meeting them in hand-to-hand combat. Bayonets and swords clashed, blades penetrated armour and flesh, clubs crushed limbs and bones, spikes dug in flesh and skull, blood gauged out of the wounds while bodies fell on the road.

The soldiers and Marines fought off the wave of Troopmon, undead digimon, unable to feel pain or fear, mindless soldiers with one thought in their minds: kill. A bullet through the head or digicore will suffice to kill them or explosives. The undead digimon didn't let out a single warcry, just the rhythmic sound of their respirators.

Another fell by his hand, Duftmon swept his sword sideways, wiping away some of the dark blood coming out of the Troopmon. He took a quick observation around him; more regular enemy troops were bounding on them while the humans' armour support was taking heavy fire, slowly backing due to the lack of infantry support. They need to push through the enemy line soon or else the offensive will be another bloodbath.

"Magnamon! We need to punch through the line! Get the squad up now!"

The golden knight nodded without a second thought after he kicked a Knightmon through a destroyed building.

"Shinegreymon! On me!" He ordered as he flew pass the sergeant.

"Hai! Second Squad with me!" She ordered quickly.

Victorygreymon, Arresterdramon, Wargreymon and Rapidmon followed her, taking out hostiles along the way before they halted before Magnamon. The Royal Knight with Wargreymon and Rapidmon bombarded the enemy ahead and push through the wave while Shinegreymon, Victorygreymon and Arresterdramon covered their rears, eliminating half a dozen enemy troops at a time. In less than two minutes, a clear hole punctured enemy forces straight to the Senate.

"Way's clear! Move up, troops!" Duftmon ordered loudly.

Legionaires began to retreat due to high casualties and the imminent danger to the Senate. The Marines and two platoons of Army soldiers joined the Royal Knight Task Forces while the rest stayed behind, detaining and regrouping enemy soldiers who surrendered or wounded.

The Imperial Senate resembled to Roman architecture, made of stone with large and strong marble pillars and a large dome roof, plated in gold. It was a gigantic and magnificent structure, despite taking a heavy toll from the ongoing battle, tank shells and heavy rounds punched through the thick layered walls of the building, it was still standing despite the damages it took.

Magnamon and Second Squad were the first ones in the building, going through the large sized hole made by a tank shell. They were immediately met with enemy fire, rounds flew around them from the ground-level and on the balcony of the first floor, filled with more legionaires. Wargreymon jumped infront of his squadmates and pulled over his Brave Shield, deflecting most of the incoming rounds while Rapidmon and Magnamon provided cover fire for the rest of the task force and the humans.

Human guns barked as loud as the digimon' weapons and attacks. Projectiles flew in every direction, bodies fell from above and on the ground, tainting the pristine black and white marble floor with blood.

"Rapid Fire!"

"Plasma Shoot!"

The combined attacks were launched at the cluster of enemies on the balcony. The building shook violently caused by the heavy detonation, a thick cloud of ash and dust filled the main hall, causing some of the humans to cough while visibility was extremely low. They waited impatiently for the thick cloud to clear out, weapons at the ready to shoot at anything that moved. A full minute passed and silence remained in the hall. Surprised and cautious, the humans began to spread out and clear the hall and the adjacent rooms.

"Looks like that did the trick, huh?" Rapidmon commented, mildly surprised at the turn of the event.

"This place is still under Imperial control, we keep moving while the humans clear the area," Duftmon instructed while moving pass the task force and the humans.

* * *

The wooden double doors bursted open, the digimon task force cautiously walked in the large and long splendid corridor, a couple of doors were present on both sides and at the end of the corridor was the amphitheatre where the senators, diplomats and politicians were gathered. A platoon of Marines followed behind them, systematically breaching and clearing each room on the corridor. Though the rooms came up empty, Duftmon, along with the other digimon, sensed a dozen hostile presence in the amphitheatre. The tactician glanced at the Knight of Miracles who nodded in return confirming his suspicion. Duftmon gave a swift hand gesture, signaling the Strike Force soldiers to follow him while Magnamon informed the Marines about the location of the HVT.

Shinegreymon volunteered to take point, summoning her GeoGrey Sword as she approached the doorway. She looked back at her superior officer, waiting for his order. Her squadmates were ready to breach into the fray, their body tensed as adrenaline pumped into their datastream and bloodstream. A very close engagement awaits them at the other side of the door, their target is a powerful foe on his own but she can sense his bodyguards and they meant business, this will be a hard fight but it is nothing that the squad can't handle, especially with Duftmon and Magnamon on their side.

Duftmon took out his rapier and nodded at her. She turned back to the door and launched a strong kick at its hinges, breaking it in half.

Large chunks of wood flew in the amphitheatre like bullets. The first to take the full brunt of this sudden attack was an Astamon, caught off guard and mouth agaped before the wooden shards implanted themselves into their chest, shredding their guts and causing massive internal bleeding. They fell with a light 'thud' before the task force bursted in the amphitheatre, simultaneously launching their attacks at their targets.

Shinegreymon narrowly dodged a slash attack from a Butenmon and deflected a strike from a Justimon at the same time. She kicked the cyborg digimon away before parrying Butenmon's spear thrust and planting the blade of her sword through their neck. Blood jouted out of the wound after she pulled the blade out, showering her in blood, the thick crimson liquid slowly dripped down her red and white armour.

"Critical arm!"

She quickly took two steps back, avoiding being sliced in two by the upward stream of hot energy inches away from her face, the intense heat radiated off the cutter-type Critical arm. She narrowly dodged the second downward slice. She spun on her feet, shifting her body closer to Justimon and delivered a strong knee strike to his side. Justimon staggered a few feet away and growled angrily. Shinegreymon took a fighting stance, her sword held in front of her, the blade slightly pointed towards him. His Critical arm summoned a short, mono-edge, blade and took his stance.

The two warriors silently stared at each other, looking for any signs of weaknesses or opportunities. As if cued, they both charged at each other with their swords ready to strike. Once within range of his blade, Justimon lunged forward, opting to cause serious damage with a sword thrust at the last second. However, Shinegreymon had faster reflexes, she used her wings and momentum in speed to launch herself over her opponent, landing behind him with a slide, spun around and thrusted the sword through his back, the blade stuck out through his spine and ribcage. A sharp and pained gasp escaped his mouth before he went limp and slid out of the blade, his body fell to the ground and blood pooled out of the gaping hole.

Shinegreymon merely stared at the body for a couple of seconds before moving to help her squadmates and superiors.

The second Alturkabuterimon fell by Duftmon's hands, the weird blue-ish blood oozed down the rapier's thin blade. The tactician immediately flew to the side to avoid another raged attack from the lone Kuzuhamon, well guarded by three Pajiramon and two Butenmon. Magnamon was busy fending off against two Paildramon with Wargreymon while Victorygremon, Arresterdramon and Shinegreymon were battling against a group of GranKuwagamon. His options were limited and somehow Tyrantkabuterimon is still untouched in the middle of the fight. They need reinforcements and now.

"Hostiles in the area, watch your fire for friendlies!" He heard a Marine yell from the doorway. This wasn't the help he needed.

Small arms fire erupted in the amphitheatre, largely amplified as more Marines began to pour in, focusing their fire at Kuzuhamon and her small squad of bodyguards. Bright and fiery flashes roared out of the muzzles, a waterfall of warm, empty brass fell on the pristine marble floor. The cacophony of rifles and light machine guns drummed heavily into Duftmon's ears as he observed them behind cover, figuring out his next course of action.

"Sir! Sir!" The Royal Knight looked around, he wasn't sure if someone tried to call him or someone else, "Over here, sir!" He gazed at a Marine, waving his arm around to gather his attention, "What are your orders, sir?"

"Focus your fire on the priestess and her bodyguards, overwhelm them with greater volume of fire, Magnamon and I will handle the HVT," He instructed flatly.

The Marine simply nodded and relayed the orders to his unit, "Marines! Aim for the witch and wipe out the rest, leave the HVT to the RKs!"

"Magnamon, I need you to suppress him now!" Duftmon called out to his teammate across the room.

"I'm kinda busy here! A-a hand would be GREAT!" Magnamon replied loudly, dodging the sharp claws of a Paildramon.

"Wire punch!"

Sharp cables shot out of Paildramon's hands, wrapping tightly around Magnamon's arms and abdomen, slowly crushing them to the bone. The Royal Knight let a pained groan and struggled to free his arms. Irritated, he glared at his opponent while his armour started to glow brightly.

"That's it, no more mister Nice guy!" His armour shone bright enough to blind Paildramon though they still held onto the digimon, "Miracle Glitter!" Hot burning light shot out of his armour, envelopping and engulfing Paildramon with holy fire.

Screaming in agony, Paildramon let him go, spinning agitatedly around themselves, dancing in the flames. Cannons summoned out of his shoulder plates, aimed at the screaming target.

"Plasma Shoot!"

Two beams of plasma slammed into Paildramon, tearing flesh and bones like a pen through paper. The digimon fell on the ground lifelessly, two large holes bore in their chest before they dissolved into data particles. Magnamon panted heavily after defeating his enemy, he looked for Wargreymon, whom just executed the second Paildramon by decapitation. He gave a thumbs-up and Wargreymon replied with a nod. The two parted ways.

"Oh fuck! Fuck! Run!"

"He's coming for us!"

The Marines shouted in panic when Tyrantkabuterimon flew straight at them, eyes glinting in amusement, his crooked smile showed rows of razor sharp teeth. The giant insect digimon extended his arms out, prone to slice and dice every human in his path. Without a second to spare, Magnamon prepared to arm his cannons while Duftmon chased after him.

"Plasma Shoot!" A swarm of anti-personnel missiles soared out of his shoulder plates, seeking and pursuing the designated target.

The large velvet digimon twisted his body around in the air, dodging every missile with impressive agility and prowess. The missiles harmlessly hit the other end of the amphitheatre, resulting only in property damage. The Royal Knight of Miracles watched helplessly and in horror as the "King of Bugs" smirked smugly at him before launching for the unfortunate Marines. Their screams of agony, pain and pure horror filled the large, spacious room.

Tyrantkabuterimon mercilessly hacked and slashed every human in his path, swiping his bladed hands left and right, dismembering and disembowelling his preys with a sadistic and gleeful, toothy smile. Blood, organs and guts shot out of their bodies and covered every inch of the wide doorway. The gory scene ended in a minute, the powerful digimon flew away, covered in the blood of his victims, leaving behind the trail of disfigured bodies and thick rivers of dark red liquid.

Magnamon remained still in the air, not believing his eyes, his face was pale, blood and sanity washed away from within. Then a purple blur flashed pass him; Arresterdramon nominated to chase after the High Value Target despite Shinegreymon's protests.

"I'm on pursuit!" He yelled in the distance, eyes narrowed at the target with determination and boiling fury; he will make sure to delete the digimon swiftly and with extreme prejudice.

However the HVT was faster than him, already reaching the main hall where dozens of Marines and soldiers began to open fire at him. Arresterdramon doubled his efforts, slowly gaining speed and approaching the area as the rapid and frantic gun shots grew louder, so were the cries of the humans.

"Fall back! Fall ba- AAAH!"

"Keep shooting!"

Finally the winged dragon spotted the Mega-level digimon, taking out four humans with a swipe of his tail while bullets simply bounced off his tough exterior shell. The humans desperately continued to fire, their rifles hopelessly spat out volleys of bullets but with no effect. Some started to flee the building for their lives. At the corner of his eye, Tyrantkabuterimon noticed the furious dragon charging at him. He swiftly picked up a wounded soldier by his feet and threw the man at the digimon.

Arresterdramon raised his arms up on reflex. He felt the full weight of the man impacting against his limbs, the bones let out sickening cracks, he was dead before he hit the floor. Shocked and appalled at the sight, he glared furiously at Tyrantkabuterimon with uncontrolled rage.

"Spin Caliber!"

"Shine of Bee!"

The two digimon simultaneously launched their attacks, the oversized Tail Anchor shot out towards the dark red insect digimon while his body glowed suddenly. Just as the tip of the Tail Anchor hit him, his body expanded and exploded in a red-hot and furious inferno that engulfed the entire hall. The explosion was powerful enough to shake the whole building violently like a JDAM bomb. An eerie silence reigned over the devastation.

Shinegreymon along with Duftmon and Magnamon behind her, flew as fast as possible to the scene. There were no sounds of fighting nor cheers of victory down the large corridor. Anxiety and fear griped her to the core, her mind racing with a million questions per second until she reached the main hall and abruptly halted in her tracks in mid-flight, almost bumping into a pillar.

Scattered all across the white marble floor was a sea of dark grey ash, gently blown away by the breeze like sand on the great dunes of the Mesozoic Kingdom or The Grand Pharaohmon Desert. The numerous human soldiers that fought alongside them simply vanished from existence. No trails of blood, equipment or bodies... only bullet holes and ash.

She looked down at her feet when she stepped on something, breaking it with her full weight and armoured foot. Moving her left foot away, she gasped and felt her heart tightening in multiple knots, cutting her from breathing properly. On the floor was the distinct pair of faded green goggles of Corporal Arresterdramon. She fell to her knees and shakingly picked the broken goggles in her hands, carefully grasping them like it was a sacred relic.

Grief plagued her digicore when she came to the harsh reality of the event. Arresterdramon, along with the humans, were killed instantaneously by Tyrantkabuterimon, who is now probably flying away, back to enemy line with his life safe and sound. She sobbed loudly, screaming her heart out in sorrow and anger.

The two Royal Knights silently walked pass her, observing the sight in defeat. A whole company of men perished in a few minutes, gone to the wind with their identity forever lost and forgotten. Lone tears dripped down Magnamon's cheeks, for once in his lifetime, he felt helpless, useless and lost.

"This cannot be happening..." He mumbled in disbelief, "They're gone... all of them..."

Duftmon turned around when he heard the rest of the task force coming, halting in their feet once they laid their eyes to their squad leader. Shinegreymon has lost it, her body trembling in a catatonic state, muttering incoherent words under her breath, pupils as wide as an eclipse.

"You," Duftmon pointed at Wargreymon, "Take over command of the squad, I'm promoting you to sergeant. Take her to Duskmon, we're pulling back for debrief and regroup. Is that clear?"

"Sir, yes sir!" Wargreymon responded with a sharp salute despite his body aching with pain.

"Double time! We'll be right behind you," The tactician instructed firmly. He then gazed back at Magnamon, who has being quiet for some time, "Are you alright, Magnamon?"

The oblivious digimon remained silent for a couple of seconds, staring blankly at the ground. He suddenly shook his head and stared back at Duftmon, "Huh?... oh... Yeah, I'm fine..." He answered weakly.

"Then let's go. We do not have enough time to waste here."

"What are you planning to do?" The golden knight asked curiously, hesitantly following Duftmon.

"Doing the humans a favour; blow this place to the ground. Hostile troops will surely want this place back. I'll call in an air strike and hopefully take them out with it," He explained coldly, "Then we need to report to Alphamon of Tyrantkabuterimon's escape."

"But what about those soldiers? Their identities?" Magnamon asked with a cracked voice.

Duftmon stopped in his tracks just when they stepped outside the building. He briefly contemplated for an answer but found none other than the harsh and cold truth. "That is not our problem, Magnamon. They're dead and there is nothing we can do. They've done their duty, they died for their country. End of the story. You should know how this works."

Magnamon didn't have anything to respond. No remarks, no passionate protests, nothing. He conceded to his words and followed his command.

"Grani, this is Duftmon, requesting a tactical air strike on the Imperial Senate," Duftmon requested through his long range communicator.

 _"Did Alphamon authorised the order?"_ Grani Zero Arms enquired doubtfully.

"Negative, I have multiple hostile units that will soon swarm the area and flank our left wing. We do not have the manpower to hold them off," Duftmon explained in a serious tone, leaving no more room for further questions, "Make sure to warn nearby friendlies before you drop the bombs."

 _"Copy that. Tactical air strike on the Senate in eight minutes."_

* * *

 _Forward Base Foxtrot 5, Tokū Solis._

Combat Medic Sarah Fox went out of the Medical Station to pass the time for her break. Her hand systematically dug into her trouser's left pocket and took out a packet of cigarette and her lighter. She picked a cigarette out and light the tip of it before placing it between her lips and inhaled the tobacco. A long sigh of relief blew out of her mouth along with the trail of smoke. She leaned against the wooden wall of the station and stared at the night sky.

She was extremely exhausted, like her colleagues, tired, frustrated and filled with constant anxiety. The things they had to see on a daily basis, it was too much for some. Every minute of the day, another wounded comes in, covered in their own blood and crying out for God to help them. One in four would later be dead on the operating table.

She unconsciously crossed her arms over her chest and rubbed each other for warmth. The air wasn't that cold but despite that fact, her body simply trembled like a dead leaf. She supposed to be stress, which she was familiar with so there wasn't much to be worried about. This is after all the "Digital Front", so far the deadliest warzone in Human History, eventhough it isn't located on Earth.

She inhaled one last drag of her cigarette before she threw it and stomped it to extinguish the flame. She was about to head back in when something caught her eye. She swore to herself she just saw a child running around the corner.

"What the hell?"

She cautiously walked to the corner and peered around it. At the other side, standing at the other end of the building in the narrow and dimly lit alley was a little girl, dressed with clean and beautiful robe... not to mention adorable with the bunny like hood she had on her head. Sarah's eyes went wide in surprise. Was this another human they forgot to rescue? How did she got here in the first place? Is the place already haunted? That last question made her back shiver. She had seen and played enough horror movies and games to know what the fuck is going on.

The little girl gave a small smile and animatedly waved at the military woman. Sarah gulped nervously. This is beginning to look like a horror game, and children are the worst in those games. Always creepy and unnerving. Despite that, something told her to trust the little girl, forcing Sarah to step out of the corner to fully show herself to the girl.

"H-hey there, sweetheart," Sarah forced out a friendly smile, but being nervous at the same time, her smile was wry and far from being friendly. The little girl visibly cringed and sweat dropped. "You know this is not a safe place here. Do you want me to take you back to mommy and daddy, um?" Sarah lend her hand out, eventhough they were several dozen meters apart from each other.

The girl simply shook her head and waved at the woman to follow her before disappearing behind the building. Sarah just stared in bewilderment, getting more nervous. She hesitated between following the girl or simply 'nope' the hell out of here like nothing happened. The second option was tempting but her soldier side kicked in, ordering her to march forward. She let out a sigh and walked towards the direction where the girl went to.

Reaching the end of the medical station, she was further confused and slightly scared that there was no one in sight, the dirt path led to the road, where numerous soldiers and vehicles pass through every minute; surely someone with working eyes would've spotted the child. She then looked down and let out a startled scream.

"Holy crap!"

A body was sitting against the wall, the torso and head hunched over. The body wore the distinct woodland MARPAT uniform of the USMC. The uniform was dirty, covered in sweat, dirt and stains of dry blood. At first glance, it seems to be a corpse but after checking the pulse on the neck, Sarah gasped in shock when she found out the body was alive.

She quickly lifted the head up to identify the man. His face filled with dirt and dry blood, almost unrecognisable yet familiar. She then checked his plate carrier where the name tag should be. Tough luck it was ripped apart by a sharp blade or claws and a bullet hole. She dug her hand in his shirt filled with grime, searching for the dog tags. Third time's a charm, she thought.

"Bingo!" She whispered triumphantly, pulling the dog tags out of the shirt and expose it to the light with her personal smartphone, "Stephen Raymond..." She glanced at his shirt again and noticed that he was a captain. "Captain Stephen Raymond, huh?"

"..."

"..."

"OH SHIT!"

Her soldier instincts drove her to carry the unconscious Marine back inside the Medical Station. Her night just got more stressful after the encounter with the little girl.

The entrance was kicked open as Sarah brought the Marine in, yelling for immediate assistance. The whole medical staff rushed in with a stretcher and carried the wounded man to an operating table where physicians will first inspect the wounds before treating them. Sarah sat down on a chair at the entrance waiting area, breathing heavily after carrying a fully loaded Marine across a dozen or so meters. She is now lacking sleep – like her night couldn't get any worse.

"Where did you found him?" Asked her superior officer, Captain Elias Conrey, standing in front of her while handing out a foam cup of water.

"Behind the buidling, sir." She answered after chugging down the whole cup with one swig.

"How did he get there?" She shrugged in response, not wanting to discuss about her encounter with the ghostly girl; she will have nightmares for sure.

"So you just happen to find Captain Raymond, who has been MIA for a couple of days, today behind the building?" He asked sceptically.

"Yup," She answered back, her fingers drumming around the empty cup innocently.

The officer eyed her closely, reading in her eyes to see if she was lying. To his surprise, she wasn't, it was the sincere and honest truth. However he did notice how exhausted and sleep deprived she looked, possible case of insomnia added with a daily dose of stress could mess someone up. Eventhough she was the best in his team, he knew at one point she'll also break. Reluctantly, he let her off the hook.

"Try to get some rest, Sarah, you did great enough to deserve one." Without a single protest she stood up, gave a lazy salute and walked out of medical station.

Conrey quietly watched her leave the building before checking up on the Marine with the rest of his staff.

He was mildly surprised to see the Marine officer awake, well and sat up on the stretcher. He was chest naked, whole torso covered with old and recent scars, as if healed up a day ago. Raymond stared back at him with a tired smile, a nurse was doing a quick health check up until she noticed her officer present in the room. She walked to him and handed out the clipboard.

"He's alright. Just a few bruises here and there but otherwise fine," She murmured softly, "However it seems that he doesn't remember how he got here... there's a possibility of a head trauma or simply... a miracle, I guess..."

"At this point, Corporal, I think I can believe your words in this world." He replied with a sly smirk and walked towards Raymond with the clipboard in hand, "How are you feeling, Captain Raymond?"

"I'm still alive." The Marine answered nonchalantly. Conrey chuckled in response as he glanced at the clipboard.

"One of my staff found you behind our building. Do you have any idea how you got there?" Raymond shook his head confusely.

"Sorry, my memory is kinda fuzzy at the moment..."

"Do you know how long have you been absent?" Conrey enquired with interest, noting a few things on the sheet of paper.

"A day? Two?"

"Five days. You've been MIA for five days. A small search and rescue team tried to find your body in the ruins around the bridge," He explained stoically, "Your company had to move on while we tried to search for you. You were nowhere in an eight kilometer perimeter."

Raymond let those words sink in his mind. He wondered wildly just what happened to him during these days. Kidnapped by the Imps? Rescued by friendly forces? That can't be it. "Am... am I fit for duty?" He asked, hoping it would be a yes.

The doctor affirmed with a clear nod of the head, "You may return to your unit tomorrow. Until then, you should rest. I'll give the heads-up to command."

"Thanks."

"For what?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"For patching me up."

Conrey stood motionless for a moment, not sure on how to respond to that. They did nothing for him. They only washed him with a wet towel. "It was nothing." He replied before he left the Marine alone.


	40. Chapter 39

Chapter 39:

The Dragon's Den

 _November 5th 2019, Valdurmon Airfield, Tokū Solis._

All eleven Royal Knights were gathered in an empty hangar of the airfield. All of them were reunited for a debrief in the operation before tackling on the upcoming assault, the Emperor's Palace. The Royal Knights were tired, beaten and injured yet they stood up with dignity, respect and duty around the small, foldable metal table with the map of the city laid out.

Alphamon had his arms crossed over his chest, despite his left shoulder aching. In all honesty, he didn't want this meeting to happen, he just wants to take a small break for once but the humans were adamant when they want their report and information. He sighed heavily before turning his gaze at Examon, Dukemon and Sleipmon; all three Royal Knights were called in by friendly forces to intercept Lord General Tactimon in the prestigious Imperial Officer Academy.

"How did it go with Tactimon?" He demanded plainly.

Dukemon shrugged nonchalantly, "Could've gone worse; the place was filled with heavy armour, infantry and artillery but we managed to push through."

"We sadly lost four of our own back there, along with numerous humans whom perished once we got in." Sleipmon informed them sadly.

"And through all of that, Tactimon didn't put up a fight... He simply surrendered." Dukemon concluded, earning him surprised looks from his peers.

"He surrendered? Just like that?" Ulforceveedramon asked in disbelief.

"Yes. He set up a heavy defensive position and gave up in the end." Examon told him with a frown, "He decimated an entire battalion of soldiers and dared to show his hands up."

"I presume Examon knocked him out after that ordeal?" Dynasmon asked with a sly smirk. Dukemon nodded in confirmation, making him chuckle under his breath.

"Well that's great news, Tactimon is captured alive. Which leads us to you two." Alphamon announced while shifting his gaze at Duftmon and Magnamon, finding them abnormally quiet.

"We failed," Duftmon bluntly replied, "We've lost six of our own, Tyrantkabuterimon annilihilated a whole company of humans, traumatised Sergeant Shinegreymon and escaped alive."

"He slipped right through our fingers while he butchered those men," Magnamon added blankly, his hands furiously curling into fists, "They were dead in a couple of minutes." Duftmon rested a hand on the knight's shoulder and squeezed it in comfort.

"Our task force is ineffective, almost destroyed in a day." The tactician continued the report, "Enemy forces were about to swarm our left flank, I had to call in an air strike to destroy the Senate. I request that we merge our task force with another to strenghten our numbers and morale."

"I'll see if Ouryuumon could spare more troops to your task force. As for Tyrantkabuterimon, do not take the blame, he's a tough and powerful digimon, we all know this. What's important is that you made it out alive, it will be a huge blow to our morale if one of you died in battle. All of you for that matter." Alphamon stated, staring at his knights, "The Order and our allies look up to you all. We are the figures of hope and justice in this world. Keep your chins up in the face of defeat, you're not dead and that is a mistake from the enemy."

"He's right," Omegamon concurred, finally speaking up, "We've lost many of our soldiers, brave digimon with the same ideals and values as us. The humans have lost more but they keep fighting no matter what. We will end this war once and for all, here in this city. We need to keep focus on the mission. More men and digimon will die, that is the nature of war but if we prevail, we liberate a grateful world for untold generations from oppression. The hopes and dreams of billions of digimon are with us, let's not disappoint them."

Omegamon's passionate words were etched into the hearts and minds of every Royal Knight, igniting a fury that has been extinguished from within, their eyes once filled desperation and sorrow were revitalised with hope and determination. Omegamon gave them the will to fight another day, to fight for justice and peace in the Digital World.

"Damn, I wish I came up with that," Alphamon chuckled. He gave a proud pat on the white knight's back, "Glad to have you back, old friend." He said warmly, making Omegamon sheepishly rub the back of his head, "As for the others, take a break, recover your strenghts and regather your forces. In two days, the humans will launch a final assault for the palace, the enemy's last bastion, and they will send everything they have at it, attacking the imps on all sides with firepower and extreme prejudice. We need to get in and capture the Emperor first because they all want him dead. But if it is necessary, we will eliminate him. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Alphamon!" They all replied proudly.

"I declare this meeting over. Get some rest, you've earned it."

In seconds, the Royal Knights parted ways, leaving Alphamon alone in the hangar. The Aloof Hermit folded his hands behind his back, watching solemnly the humans performing and executing their tasks with speed and effeciency. Numerous helicopters landed on the tarmac, soldiers rushed in to carry the wounded out of the metal birds and rush back to another transport vehicle. Meanwhile other helicopters were about to lift, waiting for ground troops to board in and send them to a combat zone. This was the grim reality of war.

This war, that have dragged on for more than a decade, changed everything in the Digital World since the humans arrived. Warfare changed for them, putting more focus on intel gathering before hitting the enemy where it hurts. The humans, from his observations, were good fighters with a strong will to win, their courage cannot be questionned. At the face of great danger, they always fight back... but victory has a price. Casualties were high for them, it was obvious; they weren't trained to kill digimon nor were they well equipped to protect themselves from most digimon.

Death, his dull red eyes narrowed in confusion, frustration, anger and sadness. Recently he had vivid nightmares of the Grim Reaper, clouds turning into a dark sickening hue of red that rained down a heavy stream of blood, piles of bodies would look up at the crimson sky, eyes wide open in petrification and lifeless. Human corpses were so eerie and discomforting for him. Since then, he started to doubt his existence, his belief and morals. It was now a fact that Humanity created them, from computers – so what's the point of religion here? God, Yggdrasil, the Four Holy Beasts, Goddramon... They're digimon, just like him and the rest of this world. Should he consider the humans, their true creators, as gods? Can't be possible because they were too many and were as mortal as them.

What's the point of all of this?

With a heavy sigh, Alphamon pushed those troublesome thoughts away. Now wasn't the time to question about life, he must clear his mind to prepare himself for the next day. Another day, another battle. Soldier on, as they say.

* * *

 _Combat Outpost Devil Alpha, Imperial District, Tokū Solis._

His combat boots landed soundly on the broken concrete road. The vehicle that dropped him off drove away. The Marine sighed and walked towards the command tent in front of him. The tent's flaps were moved out of the way and gently fell back into place after he pass through them.

The tent was big enough to serve its purpose, multiple tables and chairs with radios and maps with one table at the center of the available space. Two Marines stood next to each other, their backs facing him.

Raymond coughed loudly to catch both of their attention by surprise. Achieving his goal, both men got startled and immediately turned around, at first annoyed but then surprised to see him back among the living.

"Skipper?" The executive officer asked in disbelief while Dukeman charged at the captain and roughly jabbed him a couple of times.

"Where the fuck were you? You piece of shit!" The gunnery-sergeant demanded sternly, but not seriously.

"Hey! I just got back from heaven all right! Give me some space or else I attempt another reckless and suicidal stunt." Raymond joked while pushing the senior sergeant away from him. He turned to First Lieutenant Sullivan, whom stood at his attention despite having exhausted eyes and a dirty face, "How's the company holding up, Sullivan?"

"Good, skipper, as always. Though morale was down when I announced the bad news."

"Yeah well, now's the time to announce the good news," Raymond said with a playful wink. His laid back tone soon shifted to a more serious behaviour, "Jokes aside, what's the general status of the Marines."

Sullivan's small, tired smile turned downward, stoic as he reports on the company's status, "Got word yesterday that Sparks didn't make it... he's dead. We've put Staff Sergeant Rodriguez in charge of First Platoon, they are holding on so far. We've also lost ten Marines in an ambush two days ago... our numbers are depleting, just under eighty men,"

"What about Corporal Cyberdramon?"

"Cyberdramon is no longer fit for duty," Dukeman began grimly, "His condition was so critical, they basically had to... uh de-evolve, I think? Basically he isn't Cyberdramon anymore and can't be for a long time. He's back in his Rookie form." He explained uncertaintly, not completely understanding digimon medical terms.

"The imps are getting meaner, skipper," Sullivan continued on, "Each day is a slow crawl for us, they're picking us off, making us bleed. In two days, the entire coalition will launch the final offensive for the Palace," He pointed their position on the map, "We'll be attacking with the JSDF and their armour. Command estimated that we will be able to stomp through their defenses after air and artillery bombardments."

"Clearing a straight path for us to take the palace," Raymond assumed pensively, "Bold but that'll only get more men killed once we get in."

"I'm afraid so, but the digimon are getting restless and impatient, and so are our men." Sullivan stated with a sigh.

They all heard the flaps behind them fluttered open . They turned around and instantly stood with their backs straight as a wood plank and formally saluted the senior officer before them.

"Ah, I see you're back among the living, captain Raymond," Lieutenant-Colonel William Richards chuckled lightly, saluting them back briefly, "You boys got him up to speed?" He asked at the executive officer and the gunnery-sergeant.

"Yes, Colonel." Dukeman replied dutifully.

Richards nodded and walked towards Raymond. His emerald eyes bore on him before he snickered and gave a quick friendly hug, patting his back happily. "I'm glad to see you back in the fight, Stephen. I've got to admit, you got me worried during those days." He stated honestly.

"You know me, sir, I do reckless shit and come back without a scratch." Raymond said jokingly.

"Tell me about it." Dukeman said sarcastically under his breath, rolling his eyes in addition.

"Is there something you wanted to tell us, sir?" Sullivan asked curiously.

"Yep, I just got permission from Eversman that I'll be joining you in battle, to the frontlines with everybody else," Richards replied with a proud smile, "If this is going to be our last fight to victory, then I want to be in the thick of it," He explained plainly, "Plus I got sick of constantly sitting around with a radio in hand." He admitted sheepishly.

"It'll be an honor to have you in the battlefield, sir." Raymond responded respectfully.

"Just like the good old days." Dukeman pointed out, remembering their time as a platoon, before the world shook drastically since the Battle of Tokyo.

* * *

 _November 7th 2019, Imperial Palace, Tokū Solis._

The ground rocked violently as artillery barrages shattered the sky, the heavy shells plummeted from the clouds with terrifying shrieks. Earth shaking explosions erupted around the palace, buildings were crushed and perished due to the amount of shells raining for the past couple of minutes or so, razed to the ground into large piles of rubbles and ash. Fire began to spread across the devastated and abandonned ruins, nothing was spared from the continous rain of death and destruction.

Shortly after the artillery barrages have ceased, numerous jets and bombers flew overhead the area of operation, dropping bombs and striking down any remains on the ground with missiles. The second wave of bombardment flattened the urban landscape, now a wasteland of rubbles, concrete, steel and ash.

Barely after all of this, hundreds of aerial digimon flooded through the devastated streets, striking the imperial stragglers and striking through the heavily weakened defenses with lightning fast attacks, punching straight lines through the enemy line. Following at a slower pace behind them were the humans, supported with heavily armoured and armed vehicles with helicopters above them to provide close air support along the way. The soldiers of the IDDF were tasked with eradicating the enemy and cleaning up the streets – and so far, they were rolling through them, crushing any resistance under their threads, with firepower and prejudice.

It was an onslaught for the few remaining loyal legionaires, very few were spared from being coldly gun down or taken away as prisonners. The human troops were stampeding through the city all the way until they've reached the Imperial Palace, the last imperial bastion and last hideout of the Emperor. It was there that they meet heavier opposition. The legionaires, overzealous and faithful to their leader, fought bitterly against overwhelming odds. The digimon of the coalition were being pushed away, taking too many casualties to breach in the palace. They require the combined volume of fire of the humans to crush the remaining resistant force. A long and hard uphill battle ensued.

The Imperial Palace is a massive structure, a shining symbol of the Imperium's wealth, power and might. This multi-level giant of a structure is made from concrete, marble, stone bricks, steel, granite and gold. The building consists of five linked structures: the main and the largest structure is at the center, it is a large square building hosting as a hub of the palace; four other circular structures, the rotundas, are built of its four sides, linked up by an open portico between them. These four buildings acted as the lobby, foyer and administration offices with guard posts and personal quarters for the numerous staff members. Each of them have a shining golden dome roof with a flagpole at the very top, the Imperium's flag waving proudly over the battle scarred city.

The main structure as a more traditional but impressive roof, hosting a small bell tower at the center on top of it, narrow passageways are built around the roof to allow guards to patrol overhead. The building is limited by the spacious and master-crafted porticos, it is like a forest of columns that protected the palace's borders. Despite being an obvious and big target, the palace still stood tall proudly, even with the numerous battle scars inflicted by the ongoing battle.

"Keep the pressure on them! Aim for the windows and watch the rooftop!" Richards instructed his Marines under enemy fire.

Bullets and rockets flew at them, chewing up through their numbers. Armoured vehicles provided close ground support at a distance, spitting out salvos of heavy hitting rounds at dangerous threats and important targets. The Digital Marines have set up a firing line on the Eastern flank, taking cover behind craters and ruins.

"Rhino 2-4, this is Warlord Actual, hostile machine gun on the rooftop, above the fourth window from the left!" He requested urgently through the radio.

 _"Copy that, keep your head low, sir!"_

 _"Firing!"_

A deafening thump shook the ground. A loud explosion erupted on the designated target, parts of the gigantic palace caved in, a ton of concrete, wood and steel squashed the imperial soldiers on the floor below it.

"Good hit, 2-4, keep up the good work!" He said gratefully before looking around for Captain Raymond. He found the man a couple of meters away from him, "Alpha Actual, secure our right flank, I see armour trying to outflank us!" He ordered through the radio.

 _"Copy, we're moving out!"_

"Third Platoon move to our right flank with Second Platoon! I want mortars up and running!" He heard the captain yell from the distance.

Once satisfied that their position was locked and secured, Richards bent down and resumed to take over the radio, his communications specialist sat against a half destroyed wall, his left leg wounded by a gunshot.

"Get me Overlord, son." He demanded calmly. The Marine obeyed and managed to get in contact with command, "Overlord, this is Warlord Actual, we've managed to soften the enemy position on the Eastern flank. What are your orders?"

 _"Warlord Actual, you have clearance to breach in the palace. Try to relieve some of the pressure for the JSDF units, Royal Knights should come in once an opening has been made. Good luck, over and out."_

"Incoming!" A Marine shouted near him.

Several Marines swore and dived for cover as a missile flew overhead them. The projectile soared across the street and hit a M1A3 Abrams on its left thread, immobilising it on the spot. Sparks shot out the vehicle as it was rocked backwards by the powerful explosion.

 _"Shit! Rhino 2-4's hit!"_

"2-4, status report!" The Lieutenant-Colonel demanded concernly, "2-4, do you read me?"

 _"Aah... this is 2-4, tank got hit pretty bad, the driver got hit by shrapnel and third degree burns. We're trying to pull him out of here..."_

"Hang tight, 2-4, I'm sending you a team to get your guy out. Can you still fight?"

 _"Affirmative, Colonel. Guns are still online. However we're sitting ducks here."_ Reported the tank commander through hasty breaths.

"Calm down, 2-4, you still have enough cover to get through this. Switch target to the right flank, do not let them get through."

 _"Roger that, we're operational in a couple of minutes,"_

"Steel 6, this is Warlord Actual, I need you to put a hole through the palace. Make a way for our boys!"

 _"Copy, Steel 6 is sending out the breaching hammer!"_

A thunderclap cracked through the air, a shell sped across the battlefield and hit the palace on the intended target in a spectacular explosion. Richards gave the orders to Charlie company to rush in while Bravo and Alpha company provided cover fire.

 _"Warlord Actual, this is Overlord, be advised, Marsoc units are egressing by air to the objective, breaching in from the roof. Callsigns are Tombstone 0-1, Spartan 1-3 and Spartan 2-2 "_

Three UH-1Y Venoms travelled across the devastated grounds caused by the ongoing battle. The pilots put their focus on trying to avoid the incoming enemy rounds, the side gunners fired short bursts in retaliation to suppress the enemy. The Force Recon Marines of Spartan 2-2 waited stoically, watching at the battlefield below them. Renamon racked the M4A1 carbine's charging handle, chambering a round in. She glanced at her squadmates, making sure they had their game face on before peering at the other two helicopters.

Against Colbert's protests, Staff Sergeant Renamon insisted to join with her Marines in the final battle despite her wounds holding back some of her abilities. But she wasn't dead and she wanted payback, she made sure Colbert understood that. In exchange however, Colbert firmly ordered that her squad will be supported by another Recon unit; she didn't mind it, more hands will do the job.

"ETA 40 seconds," The pilot announced flatly at the Marine operators,"Friendlies have breached in through the Eastern rotundas, so keep that in mind. LZ's going to be hot, be ready to jump out."

"Got it!" Renamon replied to the pilot with a thumbs up.

"Shit! Incoming!"

The helicopter abruptly jerked sideways, almost throwing Rookie out in the air, and nearly missing a surface-to-air missile. "Hang tight!" One of the gunners shouted as the pilots try to get the bird stable in the air.

 _"You're still up, Juliet 6-8?"_ Asked the pilot of another chopper.

"Yeah! Although I almost threw one dude out!" The pilot turned around at the Recon Marines, "Sorry about that, bro." He apologised to Sergeant Blade.

"Get ready to jump!" Renamon instructed as the helicopter got near the roof.

Once the Venom hovered in place, Renamon disappeared from sight while her squadmates jumped out of the transport helicopter, hitting the roof and sliding down its face. Meanwhile Renamon swiftly took out the surprised legionaires on the walkway. Not too far from Juliet 6-8, the helicopters Douglas 0-9 and Juliet 1-5 were letting the spec ops units rappel down to their designated spots: Spartan 1-3 was deployed on top of the Western rotunda while Tombstone 0-1 breached in the palace through the bell tower.

"Hostiles down! Let's move to the Eastern rotunda! Double time!" Renamon ordered as she ran on top of the portico's rooftop.

 _"Spartan 2-2, this is Overlord, we've just got report from Marines that they're taking heavy casualties from a troll. Assist them in anyway you can to eliminate the threat ASAP."_

"Solid copy, Overlord! Spartans are oscar-mike from the roof!" When the squad reached the golden dome, they started to place C4 explosives in a circular pattern on its surface. "Breaching! Breaching!"

Sergeant Blackburn detonated the charges, a large piece of the dome fell in and crushed a barricaded position of enemy troops. While Graves and Rookie set up rappel ropes, Renamon and Coal provided cover fire, gunning down any remaining hostile troops. Simultaneously the Recon Marines rappel down the ropes with Renamon jumping in graciously, narrowly missing bullets. The vulpine digimon landed harmlessly on the ground and quickly eliminated any nearby soldiers in hand-to-hand combat before her Marines could join in. But they knew that she could handle well on her own.

Renamon twisted the arm of the Sealsdramon before shoving their own combat knife through the neck, a thick fountain of blood spurted out of the slit wound and spattered on Renamon's plate carrier and on the white marble floor.

"Oh crap..." Rookie pointed out with dread.

Renamon turned around and saw a huge and intimidating digimon. She sensed its energy since they were on the roof, it reeks with hatred and blood lust, and for once in a long time, she felt nervous in front of her opponent. Facing the Recon Marines was a Titamon, several corpses of Marines laid scattered around it with a dozen phantom entities floating above them. Its greatsword was already stained with the blood of the victims, the lifeless eye sockets on the greatsword lit up and growled menacingly at its new preys. Across the rotunda, behind the Titamon, were Marines of Charlie company, dragging away their wounded while the rest got into a firing line.

"Now what?" Coal asked unsurely.

"Unfortunately, I do not know," Renamon admitted truthfully, "This digimon is supposed to be extinct, a myth from another Digiworld."

"Great... So we have to deal with zombies now?!" Rookie grumbled in frustration.

"Keep your distance and take down the phantoms!" Renamon instructed before she leapt into the air and launched her "Diamon Storm" attack at Titamon to draw its attention.

"What's the plan, Ma'am?" Graves asked loudly while they opened fire at the phantoms.

"Hold them off until the knights arrive!"

"I hope she's right about that." Rookie remarked doubtfully.

"Shut up and fire your weapon!"

Titamon let out a feral and furious roar, the phatoms charged straight for the humans while the digimon focused on Renamon. The vixen gracefully leapt over the sweeping greatsword, easily outmanoeuvring the colossal monster. But that was the only thing she could do. Her attacks would do insignificant damage and even bullets couldn't penetrate Titamon's rough skin.

 _"Just need to buy some time."_ She thought bitterly, she frequently glanced at her squad and Marines, the humans desperately fend off against an endless wave of phantoms.

Fortunately, Titamon still had its eyes on her and was extremely slow, his attacks and sword strikes were effortlessly dodged by the skillful and agile fox digimon. Once again, she rolled over another sluggish sword swipe before leaping backwards just before the greatsword slammed on the floor, creating large cracks around the impact. She shouldered her weapon and fired a short burst before swiftly shifting one spot to another, launching her "Diamond Storm" attacks from the air. Titamon relased another furious growl, irritated at the agile digimon that keeps dodging its attacks. Fumes escaped from its lifeless maw, its digicore boiling with increasing rage.

Her carbine clicked empty, demanding more rounds to be fed. Renamon quickly searched through her plate carrier and cursed at herself, that was her last magazine. She pulled out her sidearm, a P226 pistol, and sprinted towards her opponent. Blood and data pumped into her system, transforming into a rich flow of raw adrenaline, her senses and reflexes hightened. Sweat poured out of her and swept away as she dashed across the rotunda, dodging narrowly each attack. With the rush of adrenaline pumping into her, she didn't know how her body was actually exhausted, surpassing leagues over its limit, crying and threatening to collapse at any moment. But she ignored those warnings and pushed herself further more, probably going over 200 percent of her capacity.

She launched herself at the top of the greatsword, using her strong legs to push herself forward with the momentum and leapt just over Titamon's head, pistol aimed for the eyes. Time slowed down as Titamon looked up at her with wide eyes, shocked for once in its existence.

Renamon unconsciously grinned and fired two shots at its left eye and shot the eyeball above the loincloth. She landed a couple of feet behind the giant monster, howling in pain and anger and clutching its wounds as dark purple blood dripped all over the floor. The vulpine digimon pulled her combat knife out and jumped on its back. Titamon thrashed around to throw her off but her sharp claws and steel-like grip held on its skin while she began to stab it repeatedly behind its neck, hacking away its flesh with each powerful and violent strike.

Several violent thrashes later, Titamon huffed and reached around its back, catching the much smaller digimon and slowly crushed her a bit before it threw her away like a tennis ball. Renamon yelped in surprise as she was thrown away, closing her eyes and waited painfully for the hard impact. But instead her body hit something much softer and made it grunt. She could hear the sound of claws skidding across hard surface before it abruptly halted.

"You alright?" Her eyes flung open and turned her head around, not believing her sheer luck.

Guilmon managed to catch her in mid-air and safely landed on the ground, holding her securely in his arms. The red saurian gave her a childish grin, happy to see her fine and alive afterall. Like her, he was covered in dirt, sweat and a couple of battle scars; mostly bruises and cuts. Nevertheless, his golden eyes sparkled like his charming smile. Renamon immediately hugged him dearly and gratefully, relieved to be rescued by him at the last second.

"Perfect timing there, Lance Corporal!" Raymond shouted across the hallway while Marines of Alpha and Bravo companies rushed in to aid their brothers and sisters in arms, "Form up, Marines! Royal Knights are on the way!"

Guilmon let her go and passed her a couple of magazines for AR-15s, "Make it count, love." He told her before running off and joining his squad.

Charlie company quickly pulled back, covered by the reinforcements of Marines and soon of JSDF soldiers, gunning down the wave of phantom warriors while rockets were used against Titamon. Bursting through the roof as planned, Dynasmon and Dukemon dived through the breached hole and landed perfectly on the ground, standing upright and staring defiantly at Titamon and its small army of phantoms.

Dukemon took on a fighting stance, his body hunched over with his shield and lance raised while Dynasmon grinned and cracked his knuckles with delight.

"I suggest to fall back, lads! This will blow to pieces!" Dynasmon warned the human soldiers, whom obeyed without a protest, "Dragon's Roar!"

Two powerful energy beams shot out of his palms, radiating with raw and combined elemental powers. The beams slammed against Titamon, piercing through its skin and flesh with ease and disintegrating its army of entities. The undead digimon wailed in agony, its body going numb from the extreme pain. But the Royal Knight duo didn't waste time to finish it. Dukemon glided towards Titamon close enough to charge his Aegis at full capacity, the shield glowed brightly with holy light, lifting it up at its chest.

"Final Elysion!" Dukemon screamed as he braced for the attack's recoil.

A large beam of light shot out and bursted through Titamon's whole body, consuming and extinguishing its digicore with overwhelming power. The undead digimon exploded into a cloud of data before it could scream in pain and defeat. Dukemon staggered a bit backward, his left arm twitching due to the strong recoil of the attack. He flinched a bit once he felt a tinge of pain on his shoulder. Which increased when Dynasmon unknowingly slapped him on the injured shoulder.

"AAH CRAP!" He yelped in pain, "Dude! That hurts!"

"Oh... sorry 'bout that." Dynasmon said while he raised his hands in apology.

While the Marines regrouped and pushed back the few imperial stragglers, Renamon and her squad decided to rest and help out Charlie company with the wounded. Well... it was more Renamon resting and them working.

Renamon still held onto Guilmon's shoulder, the adrenaline rush faded and she nearly collapsed out of exhaustion. Thankfully Guilmon still saved one chocolate bar which she rapidly devoured in seconds, refilling a small amount of her energy. The vixen rested her head on his shoulder, enjoying her small measure of peace with the one she loved. Guilmon responded with a gentle and smooth caress on top of her head. She nestled closer to him, enjoying the loving strokes she received from him. However their intimate moment was interrupted abruptly, much to their dismay.

"Lance Corporal! Move your ass and regroup! Double time!" Yelled his new platoon leader, Staff Sergeant Rodriguez.

"Aye, Staff Sergeant!" The saurian digimon responded sharply, "Sorry, sweetheart," He whispered into her ear after a light kiss on the left cheek, "See you later."

Renamon wordlessly stared at him as he went farther away. Her attention was drawn elsewhere when Rookie stood near her, awaiting for her commands. The rest of her squad was gathered around her shortly after; tired but still ready for more action. She stood back up, grabbed her carbine and eyed her men.

"Let's go end this war today, gents." She said with a small smirk.

"Oorah!" They replied with some enthusiasm.

* * *

Most of the palace has been captured thanks to the arrival of the Royal Knights and their Strike Force. Human troops swept through the floors of the grand palace while the Royal Knights headed straight for the throne room, where the Emperor was currently residing in.

Examon, Dukemon, Magnamon and Ulforceveedramon stayed behind, tasked with aiding the Strike Forces to repel enemy forces in and out of the palace and provide heavy support for the humans.

With two synchronized attacks, Alphamon and Craniummon eliminated the last two Knightmon elite guards and paved the way for the rest of the Royal Knights, reaching the throne room's massive iron double doors. The Royal Knights took a brief moment of respite, preparing themselves for what it would be the toughest fight of the war. Intense firefights echoed loudly behind them, the screams of soldiers struggling in close quarters combat filling the empty hall.

Alphamon gazed at his brothers-in-arms, after a quick check up, Omegamon gave him a firm nod to which he replied with his own. They were ready for the fight, determined to win at all cost.

"Here we go..." The Aloof Hermit mumbled as he began to push the iron door open, Dynasmon pushed the other side open aswell.

The doors let off a resounding creak, almost painful to their ears but once they were fully opened, the Royal Knights emerged in the wide throne room and were confronted to a large group of Imperial elite guards, outnumbering the holy knights.

Standing proudly in front of the throne was the Emperor, CresGarurumon, the digimon responsible for plunging the DigiWorld in more than a decade long and bloody war, a war that ruined and devastated many states and kingdoms, causing millions of lives lost and spreading famine, poverty, chaos and tyranny around the world. CresGarurumon is also responsible for disrupting the link between the DigiWorld and the Real World, Earth, attacking the humans savagely and provoking them to war. That was a big mistake for the Imperium for he has awakened a fearful giant, driven by revenge and swift justice, a giant capable of fighting against all odds and emerge out victorious.

Declaring war on the humans is his downfall; and the Royal Knights will make sure to deliver justice... either through trial or death.

CresGarurumon is flanked by two Pharaohmon and surrounded by a dozen of Ravmon and Knightmon. Every digimon in the room tense up and took their fighting stances, bracing for the fight. Duftmon and Omegamon examined their targets precisely, calculating their strenghts and weaknesses. Meanwhile Alphamon, at the head of the group, stared sternly at CresGarurumon, opting to give him and his guards one last chance of redemption.

"CresGarurumon!" He spoke in a firm and authoritative tone, "By the orders and demands of Yggdrasil, the Sovereigns and the Council of Network Security along with the United Nations of the Real World, you are under arrest for grievous crimes against Digimon and Humanity. You will face justice by trial. If you refuse the demands, we will use deadly force." Alphamon's red eyes narrowed and slightly glowed with anger, his tone shifting to much darker and colder one, "This is your last chance, CresGarurumon, end this war right here and right now, spare the lives of your soldiers and citizens, end this decade long bloodbath now while you still can."

Silence was his answer; for a moment, Alphamon was about to give in and commence the attack but the heavy silence was disturbed by deliberate slow and loud metallic claps coming from the Emperor himself, a smug smile plastered on his face.

"Bravo, Alphamon! You do know how to display a show!" He said sarcastically, "You know, for being the Aloof Hermit, you're quite naïve to think that after all these years I'll finally bow down on my knees and beg for mercy..." He chuckled dryly before his gaze hardened on Alphamon, "Lord of the Empty Seat, have you lost you're grasp on reality or are you that stupid? I've once ruled a third of this world, brought down numerous kingdoms and empires to their knees, guided by incompetent and brain dead fools! I have proven to the whole world that the gods could do nothing against me! They are all like us, mortals and cowards! False gods that want to destroy our world! I have brought salvation to Digimon! To fight back these false deities and secure a better future for us!"

"You've brought nothing but death and misery in this world." Omegamon retorted coldly.

"You brought tyranny and caused chaos and anarchy to many regions of the world." Duftmon pointed out sternly.

"And you've caused great instability to the Network and the link between our world and the Real World." Alphamon added with a hiss.

"Enough!" CresGarurumon yelled furiously, "I'm done with this shit! Kill them! Show them no mercy!" He ordered his troops, who obeyed on command and charged at the holy knights.

"End Waltz!"

"Garuru Cannon!"

"Dragon's Roar!"

"Digitalize of Soul!"

"Ernste Welle!"

"Urgent Fear!"

All six deadly attacks launched at the elite Imperials, colliding in a big and spectacular explosion that made the whole room tremble violently as it was filled in a thick cloud of smoke. Without checking for survivors, the Royal Knights rushed into the smoke, ready to eliminate anyone on sight. Dynasmon summoned his Wyvern and used the aura to swipe away and clear the smoke.

The wyvern let out a powerful roar as it swept left and right across the throne room, instantly killing any digimon crossing its path. As planned the smoke cloud cleared, revealing a few standing guards and unharmed Pharaohmon and CresGarurumon.

The two lumbering undead digimon summoned their staves and scimitars and moved in between the emperor and the holy knights. Rhodoknightmon, being the most agile and nimblest knight in the Order, sprinted straight for them, his body-sash blades ready to strike at a moment's notice. The first Pharaohmon swung the scimitar in a downward diagonal angle, attempting to cleave the pink knight in half. Rhodoknightmon elegantly dodged the strike by diving and rolling forward, using speed to pratically launch himself right between the undead giants.

Now behind the two Pharaohmon, he aimed his Pile Bunker at the back of the first one and fired a strong shockwave at their back. The volatile projectile crushed the digimon's armoured flesh and bones, causing them to wail in unbearable pain.

"Spiral Masquerade!" His body-sash blades soared out and sliced through the second Pharaohmon's legs and back, causing more pain and blood raining on him.

Wounded and distracted, Craniummon and Omegamon rushed in for the killing blow. The white knight thrusted the Grey Sword through the first's chest, pushing the blade forward until it got out of the back. Meanwhile Craniummon violently bashed the second with his shield, Avalon. The Pharaohmon helplessly fell on the ground, fully exposed and vunerable to the Royal Knights. Craniummon simply plunged the Claiomh Solais through their Digicore, instantly killing them. Omegamon pulled the greatsword out, a waterfall of blood came out of the undead's wound before he swipe the blade along the neck, decapitating them in one fluid motion.

"Look out!" Omegamon warned urgently as he spots a golden blur coming straight for Rhodoknightmon. He tried to intervene by firing a shot from his Garuru Cannon but his reflexes were too slow.

Instead, Craniummon pushed Rhodoknightmon aside and lifted Avalon in front of them.

"God Bl- " The purple knight was caught off guard by the sheer speed and force of the incoming attacks, "Shit!" He growled as he tries to stand his ground and hold the punishing attacks off.

CresGarurumon halted his merciless strikes and delivered a powerful kick at the shield, the force being strong enough to push Craniummon to the ground with Rhodoknightmon crushed by his much large comrade.

Without a warning, CresGarurumon glided for Omegamon, the Yellow Beast Crescent Moon Blade aimed for his Digicore. The Royal Knight deftly parried the deadly blow but was immediately cut across his left thigh, deep scarlet liquid flowed out of the recent wound. Grinding through the pain, he lifted the Grey Sword up just in time to block another deadly blow from his opponent.

"Garuru Cannon!" He screamed prior firing at point blank range a lethal round of absolute zero.

The round exploded as it made contact with the Beast Knight's armoured torso, ice formed around the impact as the extremely cold temperature burned CresGarurumon through his armour, causing some of his muscles to be paralysed. Angered by this, he drove his armoured knee at Omegamon's chin. The white knight's head violently jerked upwards as his face was numb from extreme pain, his vision became hazy as he fell pathetically on the ground.

"Dragon's Roar!"

A bright beam of energy punch CresGarurumon away from his foe, sending across the throne room and colliding with his own royal throne, breaking it to pieces upon impact. Dynasmon flew after him, driven with rage and vengeance while Duftmon and Alphamon helped their fellow knights up.

"Are you alright, Omegamon?" Alphamon asked concernly after helping the white knight back on his feet.

Omegamon only responded with a slow nod, hot tears raining down his cheeks as he was sure that the pain was too much for his jaw to move correctly. He is also pretty sure that he was profusely bleeding from his mouth and nose. They both turned around to the iron doors when they heard a violent crash.

"Oh great... just what we needed..." Rhodoknightmon said dreadfully as a Titamon and a couple of additional Ravmon charged at them.

* * *

The way to the throne room was quickly blocked off by the remaining elements of defenders. Having the high ground, the defenders threw everything they had at the attackers: grenades, bricks, chairs and molotov cocktails in addition of suppressing the humans at the bottom of the staircase, not letting them an inch forward, proving to be a difficult obstacle for the Marines and Japanese soldiers.

"We need grenades now!" Richards demanded loudly.

Two Marine grenadiers hurried behind cover near him, preparing to fire their underbarrel grenade launchers. Unfortunately, as soon as they stood out of cover, they quickly met their death by enemy machine guns, resulting in a fountain of blood and gore.

"Guilmon!" Raymond called out, catching the red saurian's attention, "On me! Let's go!"

On command, Guilmon followed wordlessly his company commander, trying his best to avoid being shot at; eventhough his scales were bulletproof, it doesn't mean that it hurts like hell when being shot, he knows from experience.

The two managed to get slightly closer to the Imperial barricade at the top of the staircase. Their only piece of cover was a single marble pillar. Raymond threw a few glances at the Imps' position, nearly losing his face by a ricochet.

"Alright, on my signal, I'll provide you cover fire, I want you to blast the barricade away, carve a path for us. Is that clear?"

With a hesitant nod, Guilmon mentally prepared himself for the risky task. Raymond quietly counted down to zero and leaned out of cover with his M4A1 up, firing short bursts at the enemy.

"Go!" He yelled urgently.

Guilmon rushed out of the cover and ran up the deadly staircase, his forearms up to this face to protect himself from the swarm of bullets. The saurian growled in pain as thousand bullets was concentrated solely on him. Irritated, he deemed to be close enough for his attack to have a more devastating effect. Channeling every energy into one single attack, he felt his throat burning as fumes started to come out of his nostrils. His eyes narrowed in concentration and fury, his maw opened, the strong attack glowed inside his throat and mouth.

"Pyro Sphere!"

The attack was far larger than the regular one. It soared upwards and hit its mark, destroying the barricade and engulfing the Imps in the intense inferno.

"Barricade's clear! Move up!" Richards ordered sternly, his Marines roared in reply, eager and determined to finish the enemy.

The humans charged up the staircases, coldly gunning down or stabbing the survivors in their way. However the fight didn't end there yet. Reaching the top floor, the humans were met with a fierce and suicidal charge of Imps. A row of the enemy were quickly gunned down before the humans resorted to hand-to-hand combat.

Althought greatly outnumbered, the Imps showed no mercy or fatigue as they fought the human soldiers to the bitter end, inflicting as many casualties as they possibly can before they were completely annihilated.

Additional troops arrived, reinforcing their presence in the palace while others got their woundeds out of the palace. The humans spread out and cleared every room in the hall. Raymond and First platoon were ordered to head to the throne room.

The Marines sprinted across the destroyed hall leading to the throne room. From the distance, and to their dismay, they can see another Titamon fighting against Rhodoknightmon and Duftmon, Craniummon and Omegamon were fending off a group of Ravmon and Alphamon and Dynasmon were facing CresGarurumon, the High Value Target. Luckily for the Marines, no one seemed to notice them as they enter the throne room. They formed up a firing line behind Titamon.

"Open fire!" Raymond yelled, causing Titamon to looked around itself.

Angry barks from the automatic rifles and light machine guns spat out volleys of bullets, ripping apart Titamon's tough skin and guts. The Marines focused their fire at its head, forcing it to retreat and cover its head with its left hand, making it vunerable to more attacks. It was the opportunity the Royal Knights needed... or so they thought.

Titamon was getting furious, roaring in a savage rage before it charge straight at the humans in disregard of the incoming bullets. Raymond quickly caught on with that, his plan ironically backfired.

"Fuck! Spread out!"

The Marines did as commanded, running away from the stampeding digimon. Titamon slid to a halt and swiped its greatsword in a downward arc. Two Marines weren't fast enough to avoid the sword slash, their bodies cut in two in a gruesome manner. It then immediately spun on itself, turning into a dangerous spinning greatsword, slowly directing towards Raymond and couple of other Marines.

Fearing for his life, Raymond quickly ran as fast as his legs could, who were already exhausted since the battle began. By a pure streak of luck, Raymond slid beside a pillar just as Titamon carelessly collided with it.

The greatsword chopped right through the marble pillar but the giant digimon violently bumped its head against the pillar, destroying it to pieces and being left out in the open disoriented.

"It's fucking dumb!" He breathed out in relief.

In a cruel twist of fate, Titamon recovered from its temporary daze and set its eyes on Raymond.

"Oh come on!"

Titamon lunged an arm out, aimed to grab hold of the human. Fortunately Raymond's reflexes were on par at that moment, managing to pick himself up and dodging the arm by ducking just below it, running between its legs and ending up behind it. Without a second thought, Raymond opened fire at its rear and back. Entities appeared out of thin air and charged at the lone human. In a hasty maneuver, Raymond lobbed a frag grenade out before running away from the phantoms, the others tried to shoot them down.

The hand grenade exploded right beneath Titamon. It howled in pain as hot pieces of metal pierced its skin and melted its decaying flesh. The Marines saw this as another opportunity to eliminate it with more gunfire.

Rhodoknightmon dashed towards the big digimon, doing his best to avoid being shot by friendlies. He equipped two of his sash blades and jumped towards Titamon. In mid-air he twisted his body around rapidly, turning into a tornado of razor sharp blades. In an awesome and incredible display of acrobatics and agility, he swoop down and cleanly chopped Titamon's head off. He landed gracefully in front of the headless corpse, panting heavily as more blood rained on him, covering his once clean and pristine pink armour in dry and fresh blood stains.

"Dude... that was awesome!" He heard a Marine praising excitedly.

Rhodoknightmon simply giggled and shook his head.

"Watch out!" A Marine screamed suddenly.

He turned around just in time to see Dynasmon hurling in his direction. Not wanting to be crushed by another knight, he leapt in the air to avoid Dynasmon. The other Royal Knight hit the wall on impact and fell back on the ground. Groaning in pain Dynasmon dazily looked up at Rhodoknightmon.

The pink knight hastilly ran to his side and picked the unconscious knight out of the throne room.

"Where are you going?!" Duftmon asked surprisingly.

"Getting him out of here!" He replied through gritted teeth, "I'll be quick!" Without letting the tactician to protest, he left with Dynasmon hauled over his shoulders.

Omegamon finished off the last Ravmon, pulling the Grey Sword out of their chest. Suddenly he felt another presence behind him. He spun around and raised his sword to block a strike from another wounded Ravmon. The cyborg humanoid was then neutralized by a squad of Marines. He briefly thanked them before joining Alphamon and Craniummon in the fight against CresGarurumon.

CresGarurumon is a skilled and strong warrior, there is no doubt to that as both Alphamon and Craniummon were getting tired from constantly dodging and blocking while unable of landing a single attack. However, it was only a matter of time before more reinforcements arrive to surround the emperor.

"Garuru Cannon!"

The Beast Knight digimon deftly dodged the incoming round from the air. Sensing another presence behind him, CresGarurumon slid to the side, avoiding a slash from Craniummon and parried a sword thrust from Duftmon. He smirked once he has the two Royal Knights in a deadly trap, hitting two birds with one stone. Unfortunately, Duftmon caught on with that a second too late.

"Beast Great Wolf Rotation!"

In the blink of an eye, CresGarurumon spun on himself, turning into a lethal weapon. The sharp blades on him and his weapon sliced through the heavy armour of both Royal Knights, causing enormous wounds and profuse bleeding. Cutting through his rivals, he stopped the attack and instantly blocked a sword strike from Omegamon, their blades sent out sparks as they clashed for dominance.

His strenght was far greater than Omegamon has anticipated, he felt him pushing the Grey Sword aside with little effort. The white knight was about to shoot at his foe only to be violently interrupted by a strong punch to the face. The force pushed him backwards, his face going numb once again. His vision blurred as tears were threatening to fall. The cyborg warrior kicked him to the ground, stomping on his chestplate with his mighty armoured boot to cause more suffering. Omegamon screamed as he felt his ribcages being crushed, his lungs cut off of air supply.

He painfully looked up to witness CresGarurumon rising his halberd above his head, ready to strike at his Digicore. That would've been the end for the white Royal Knight, were it not for Alphamon's timely intervention.

The black Royal Knight tackled the large wolf humanoid digimon across the throne room. He kicked him off and summoned the Seiken Gradalpha, taking on a defensive fighting stance while CresGarurumon slowly stood up, growling as he glares at his new opponent.

Without a single word exchanged between the two, they charged at each other where their blades clashed. A duel for dominance by strenght ensued and Alphamon was a match for CresGarurumon. However it will not last longer as the black knight felt his strenght grew weary. The cyborg wolf sensed this and smiled maniacally. Using his full force, he wiped Alphamon's weapon away and drove his armoured knee hard on his side, the chestplate actually bent inwards and cut through the flesh.

Alphamon cried out in pain and lunged his head forward, the headbutt collided violently with CresGarurumon's snout, breaking the bone and making the other howl in agony. The two warriors backed away from each other, dazed by the exchanged blows.

Alphamon clutched to his wound, hissing as blood spewed out of his armour. He used one end of the Seiken Gradalpha as a prop to lean on, his body beaten and exhausted to fight on. However the fight wasn't over as his opponent quickly recovered from his improvised headbutt, spitting out blood and glaring furiously at him, blood dripped out of his nostrils and mouth.

CresGarurumon could've easily finished Alphamon in two blows but unfortunately for him, a minor annoyance appeared in front of him.

Rushing beside Alphamon were dozens of Marines, the famed "Digital Marines", forming a firing line around the emperor, weapons aimed at him. From behind, Vademon crashed into the throne room, running away in panic as fast as his tentacles could before a BlackRenamon fazed in front of him and grabbed him by the throat, slapping effortlessly his ray gun away. Following behind her were more human soldiers along a couple of digimon, all pointed their rifles and weapons at him. A large group of human troops rushed in from the second floor, shouting orders as they took their positions and aimed their rifles, machine guns and rocket launchers at him.

Finally, more poured in through the main entrance accompanied by numerous digimon, including Dukemon, Ulforceveedramon, Rhodoknightmon, Kaisergreymon and Ancient Garurumon. The battered bodies of Craniummon, Duftmon and Omegamon soon joined in the show of force.

Everyone remained quiet as the heavy and tense silence weighed in the room. CresGarurumon let a feral growl emanated from his throat. He was completely surrounded and eventhough he could take on the army of humans, he will surely be deleted when up against numerous powerful digimon. His Imperium has perished, everything he fought for, his victories, his conquers, his riches and powers gone by the intervention of humans, creatures who were far weaker than digimon.

Humiliation and anger was all he could feel, his pride was violated, defeated. And to add salt to the injury, a single human being stepped forward, daring to stare straight into his eyes in defiance.

The lone man raised his sidearm and pointed at the tall bipedal wolf without any fear, staring at him coldly and sternly.

"Drop your weapon and get on your knees with your hands behind your head!" The human warned sternly, "This is your last warning so don't you dare do anything stupid or we will open fire. You have ten seconds!"

Weighing his options and their consequences, CresGarurumon has found none that will end in his favour. He knew that fighting will end up with his demise. With whatever dignity left in him, he made his reluctant choice.

"I surrender..." He stated with dread.

Dukemon walked behind him and forcefully held his arms behind his back, attaching his wrists tightly with Chrome Digizoid hand cuffs. The Hazard knight lightly pushed him forward, earning him a growl before CresGarurumon walked forward, out of his throne room escorted by Dukemon and several Strike Force members. During his long and painful trek outside his own palace, he observed the damages done to his palace, home and empire caused by the human-digimon coalition.

The humans stood aside as they watched the emperor of the Imperium exit his own domain. Only anger and murderous glares was received from the human soldiers, all of them preferred him dead than alive.

Off in the distance, CresGarurumon could see a large group of his loyal soldiers, gathered as they were medically treated then evacuated as prisonners of war. An Imperial officer saw the emperor and proudly stood despite the humans' orders. The officer perfomed the formal Imperial salute, pounding resoundly their left fist against their Digicore. The others soon followed suit, saluting and cheering at their beloved emperor in the face of defeat. However he could see in their eyes hope, a new hope for the Imperium for he is not dead. As long as he lives, the Imperium lives on, not as a gigantic empire but in spirit.

CresGarurumon couldn't help it but smile grimly. He did what was thought to be impossible: defy the deities and Royal Knights and conquer half of the DigiWorld in a few years. His rapid dominance will resonate through the years to come. He achieved the impossible, breaking the barrier between two worlds and creating a link. His accomplishments will echo in the History books of millions of Digimon. He left a big mark on History.

And that, in his mind, is a victory.

In the following weeks, the humans gathered their dead and wounded, and with the digimon coalition huge efforts were mobilised to rebuild cities and towns, to restore order and security for the local populations, and install a temporary government for the troubled and devastated continent.

News of the end of the war spread across the Digital World like a wild fire, even reaching the ears of the Sovereigns and the Heavenly Choir. Cheers of relief and victory echoed globally, grand parties and feasts were made in celebration and commoration of the fallen soldiers who fought for the right causes: freedom and peace.

However no celebrations were held from the men and women of the IDDF. The war was over but victory came at a high cost. They just wanted to go home. Leave this world for good.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** **Welp the war is over and so is this story, well almost over. Two more chapters left before moving on the sequel and prequel... oh boy. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter, leave a review if you want. The next two chapters will be posted at the same time. As always... _à la prochaine_! :D**


	41. Chapter 40

Chapter 40:

Going Home

 _January 4th 2020, Council of Network Security HQ, CresGarurumon's trial._

An important event is held in the giant court room of the Council of Network Security - the digimon equivalent of the United Nations Security Council– as hundreds of digimon ambassadors and representatives observed tensely the trial. Numerous digimon news networks also assisted to the trial, showing the event live on televisions and radios across the world for billions of digimon.

The air was quite heavy since the Sovereigns were also present, conducting the trial. Despite them not being members of the CNS, the crimes committed by CresGarurumon and his Imperium were of outrageous proportions that the CNS allowed the Sovereigns to take the role of the supreme court.

The Four Holy Beasts were gathered at an elevated podium, giving them a more intimidating presence. Standing before and below them was CresGarurumon, surrounded by the hundreds of spectators, all eyes bore on him like a giant storm looming over the landscape, however its seems that he was keeping his calm despite the pressure on him. And after much discussions, debates and a lot of anxious waiting; the result of the court is about to be announced.

"GresGarurumon, emperor of the tyrannic Imperium, has committed numerous war crimes against the DigiWorld, its inhabitants and Humanity. He had caused a bloody conflict that lasted fourteen years, ending the lives of up to six to ten million digimon and nine hundred and sixty thousand humans, soldiers and civilians included." Narrated the deep voice of Qinglongmon while staring down at CresGarurumon with a scowl, "You will answer for these crimes that you've committed along with hundreds more crimes committed by your own troops such as corruption, pillaging, torture, weapon and digimon traffickings, purposeful destructions of historic and religious sites especially towards the Religion of Light, and direct attacks on civilians, inflicting unnecessary sufferings to digimon and humans."

"With the accords of the United Nations and the Council of Network Security, as punishment for these crimes, you are sentenced to exile to the Deep Web Island!" Zhuqiaomon's fiery and heavy voice declared sternly.

A group of angels descended from the court and brought the heavily chained CresGarurumon out of the court where he will be sent to the Data Ocean where the highly fortified and guarded prison complex awaits him.

He gave one last glance at all the digimon who assisted to his court, notably the Royal Knights, standing at a far corner at the balcony on the second floor. He smiled at them silently, sending dread towards Alphamon before he left the court room. Once it was over, the Royal Knights quietly walked out of the building.

"Finally!" Dynasmon exclaimed while stretching his arms out, "I was getting bored of all of this. Who would've thought that that would last three hours?"

"I've got to agree with you there," Examon admitted while flexing his massive wings out, "My back is stiff from retracting my wings for this long."

"How's your left leg, Duftmon?" Magnamon asked concernly at the tactician, the fact that the injured knight had to stand through all of this must be a pain in the-

"A horrible thorn, Magnamon." Duftmon replied bluntly.

"So what now, Alphamon?" Dukemon asked casually, facing the Aloof Hermit and waited for his response.

The black knight gazed back at the building quietly before his eyes met those of the Royal Knights, standing before him and waiting patiently for him to speak. He smiled warmly behind his helmet, relieved that he hasn't lost one of them in the long and bloody conflict.

"Now? We go back to the castle and prepare negociations with the humans." He informed them as a matter-of-fact.

"Can we like, take a rest first? I'm exhausted." Rhodoknightmon said while faking a yawn. Most of the Royal Knights eagerly nodded in agreement.

Omegamon shook his head," Sure, you'll get your rest once we get home."

"Indeed, I think we all deserve some rest," Alphamon affirmed lazily, "Besides, I have Ouryuumon take care of the rest for us."

"Isn't that too much work for him?" Sleipmon asked with worry.

"He'll be fine." Alphamon said with a shrug. But in his mind, he can tell that the captain of the Strike Forces is cursing him to no end. To that he chuckled lightly.

* * *

 _March 8th 2020, Castle Albion, Eniac continent._

Since the end of the war, the humans were still in the Digital World to aid in the restoration of settlements and provided supply aids to those in need. Routine patrols were conducted to install order and prevent any banditry in the region. Thankfully there were no casualties eventhough there have been a few engagements with bandits and rogue imperial soldiers.

Only next month will the human soldiers be able to go back home.

Renamon sat quietly just outside the Human Ressources department office, arms crossed and eyes closed as she catch up on some sleep during the wait. Eventually, the door to the office creacked open revealing Guilmon with a broad smile. She looked up to him with a small smile as he approached her and gave her a quick kiss on her lips.

"See you outside?" She simply nodded before she got in the HR office.

The office wasn't too small nor big and it was bland, like any standard office in this castle. She stood with her back straight and saluted formally. Sitting behind the wooden desk was a First Sergeant reading through her files before he noticed her and gestured her to take a seat. She complied and waited for him to speak.

The HR manager took his glasses off and placed the files down, finally ready to address to the digimon in front of him.

"As you may know, we're offering to all digimon service members the choice to return to Earth with us. The Japanese government has already planned to financially help these digimon so that they can adapt to their new home. But you'll also need to apply to the administration to get an ID card." He explained plainly, "Fortunately for you, since you are partnered with a human, the transition process will be much easier and quicker; for you and me. "

He pulled out a document with a list of various instructions and information about some of the benefits to adapt to the Real World. At the very bottom of the page was a blank rectangle. He handed to her a black ballpen for her to sign the document.

"As per your request, this will help you in your transition to the civilian life back on Earth. You will receive monthly social contributions from the government as well as this..." He gave her an unsealed enveloppe with a credit card and another piece of document on it, "This is your new credit card, courtesy of the Marine Corps along with info on your current bank account."

She inspected briefly the gold piece of plastic in her hand before reading the document. Her eyes went wide open when she read the amount of money she had gathered throughout her years of service.

"This...this is too much, sir."

"Of course not, it is enough for you to live a new life," The Senior Enlisted Advisor said with a grateful smile, "You've done a lot for us in the Corps. Your performance and skill in the field are quite outstanding, even to MARSOC standards. You're a war hero now."

"Thank you, sir." Renamon replied with a respectful bow.

"We should thank you instead. Frankly, I never would've thought that having you guys in the field would give us a much needed edge over the enemy. You've performed your duty well, Staff Sergeant." He stated with a laid back tone, glad to have her on their side.

However his attitude shifted once he wanted to address on the second subject, one that should be discussed as soon as possible. He frowned after pulling out another document from her file.

"... That being said, Eugene informed me that you were visiting him quite often, is that correct?" She nodded quietly, already figuring out where this conversation will go. "Well... after some observations and mental tests that he gave you... he concluded that you are showing signs of PTSD." He told her sombrely.

"Crap." She muttered angrily.

"Indeed," He agreed with a sigh, "Sleepless nights, vivid and recurring nightmares, reports of you wandering around the castle all night long, empty stares, and the list goes on..." He stared at her with a serious gaze, "Listen, I know the reputation your species have but this isn't your fault. You've been through and seen a lot. It is not easy for you to cope with our method of warfare. It is much uglier than your old ways. So please, do me favour and seek help ASAP, okay?"

She didn't answer, she blankly stared at the ground, her heart throbbing in pain as multiple needles of shame and doubt stabbed her from within.

"I've contacted the higher-ups and the Japanese military." He continued despite the lack of response from the vixen, "Hypnos is willing to help you and your friends to at least "cure" you. I won't give you any pills because they might have negative side effects for you. Is that clear?"

Despite his attempt to cheer her up, Renamon was still in her own painful world inside her mind. With a sigh, the HR manager gently led her out of his office while patting her back in comfort.

"You're going to make it through this, Renamon. You're a tough Marine, so fight like one." He stated hopefully before he left her alone.

The vixen digimon remained on her spot for several seconds before she shook her head and sighed sadly. Calming down her nerves, she headed for the exit where Guilmon was waiting for her; for now, he was her only source of happiness, she made sure to enjoy their date to the last moment.

That night, Flamedramon wandered in the castle, looking around at the decorations while his mind was in deep thought. The war is over but a new problem arises: he didn't have a home to go to. He didn't have a tamer, he got in the Real World by accident, only helped by a kind-hearted human, killed during the invasion. He can't remember much of his past. He was born in the First Village without parents, which meant that he died in a previous life. How or when was still a debate for him. But he didn't care.

He enjoyed this new life, despite the numerous tragedies and hardships he just went through. He has found a new family, one in the military. He met his brothers and sisters, both human and digimon, he fought with them through hell... and lost many.

His mind was torn in half; quit the military and join an uncertain life in the Real World or stay here and hope for the best. Either options didn't bode well for him. He was lost just like now as he tries to actually find his personal quarter.

His train of thoughts was halted when a familiar voice caught his attention, one he didn't believe to hear in a million years.

"Yo, Flamey! Over here!" BlackRenamon called out much to her friend's embarrassment.

He slowly turned around, right eye twitching at the mention of his supposed pet name. At the other end of the hall was BlackRenamon and Weregarurumon. The black vixen was waving her arms in the air to beckon him. Reluctantly, he walked back towards the two female digimon.

"Don't me call that, please!" He hissed at BlackRenamon.

She giggled in response before speaking up, "What are you doing here? Wandering around the place."

"I-uh-I...I'm actually lost..." He replied as he takes another glance around the hall, not familiar with the layout of the fortress, "I don't know where my room is now that I think about it..."

"Haha! Really? Gosh, you and Weregarurumon have so much in common." She leaned closer to Flamedramon with a paw close to her mouth, "Just yesterday she forgot where the mess hall was so she ended up in the war room by accident, right in the middle of a meeting." She whispered with a stiffled laugh.

"Rena!" Weregarurumon exclaimed while Flamedramon couldn't hold his laughter.

"So anyway... Do you need help with something?" The bipedal wolf asked much to her friend's and Flamedramon's surprises.

The blue dragon bit his lower lip, almost declining the offer but he decided to continue interacting with the two, maybe they could help him out.

"Uh yeah, actually... It's, uh..." He thought pensively to get the words out properly, "The humans... they're about to leave this world in a month and uh... I don't know if I should join them or stay here..."

"Well... do you have any families over there or here?" He shook his head.

BlackRenamon and Weregarurumon kept themselves quiet as they tried to figure a solution to his dilemma. After a minute or two, Flamedramon could see they could find none, much to his dismay and decided to just leave them and figure it out by himself. He was abruptly stopped when Weregarurumon grabbed his shoulder.

"Wait! There is a way but, um... I can't believe I'm saying this..." She said to herself under her breath, "B-but how about you stay at my place?" Both her and Flamedramon blushed deeply while BlackRenamon tried her best not to laugh hysterically in front of them. "It's not far from the capital city so... you can find a job or something over there." Weregarurumon continued with her proposition.

At first Flamedramon wanted to run away in embarrassment but after some self-control and further thought, he let a small smile form on his lips.

"Yeah, I might do that... Thank you, really, for offering me your hospitality." He said politely with a bow. "So when do you leave?"

"Um... in two weeks?" She looked at BlackRenamon for confirmation. The vixen nodded certaintly, "Yeah, two weeks. So I'll give you a heads up if you want."

"That'll be great." Flamedramon noted before he started to make his way back to his personal quarter, saying his goodbyes to BlackRenamon and Weregarurumon.

When he was out of sight, BlackRenamon nudged her friend with a playful wink, "What did I tell you? You two make such a cute couple; you're even asking him out. Next step will be you and him getting married and have beautiful children-"

"That's enough!" Cried a very flustered Weregarurumon before she walked away from the vulpine digimon.

"Aw c'mon! Don't be like that!"

"Nope! Stay away from me!"

"But he could be a great mate for you!" BlackRenamon playfully chased after her friend.

"LALALA! Not listening!"

* * *

 _May 18th 2020, Castle Albion, Eniac continent._

The humans based at the castle gathered their equipment as they prepared themselves for one last journey before going home. Hundreds of troops already waited outside at the helicopter landing zones but more were still inside getting their stuff while others said their farewells to some of their digimon friends.

Raymond hefted the deployment rucksack on his back and carried the heavy duffle bag in his left hand. As he makes his way out of the room, he took a glance around it before flicking the lights off and closing the door behind him.

Along the way, he gave curt nods at the passing Marines, he could tell that they were impatient and eager to finally move out of this place but they were also anxious and nervous, having been living in the Digital World for years made some of the men and women afraid of the changes back on Earth. What would their lives be in the future? Sure most of them will continue their military career as per signed on the contract but to those whose contract ended this year; how will they recover to the civilian life?

Unfortunately Raymond had no answers for them. His career just got extended to five more years due to orders coming from POTUS himself. A darker thought then came into mind; he was worried about the Marines' mental health. With so much death and destruction they've been through, there is no doubt that many will have PTSD, and knowing the American mental health system since President Dirrel came to office in 2017, very few will recover and live a normal life.

The conflict had been brutal despite lasting three years. But those three years had been filled with gruelling battles, many soldiers died in a short period of time, casualties mounting in the hundreds monthly. It is simply too much for a modern human to endure. No one was trained to fight in this world and despite that grim fact, they've survived and won. Their intervention was the morale boost and force the Digimon coalition needed to break the bloody stalemate of the war.

But victory came at a hefty price, a price no one wished to see ever again. The global war on Terror almost seemed tame compared to this one. He wished it will be the last one.

The CH-53K King Stallion gently made its descent on the landing pad, its rear ramp extending out to let the Marines embark in it. One by one, the Marines walked in and took their seat. The heavy aircraft then lifted off the ground, ascended to the sky and headed for Dawnstar Hill.

Raymond was the last one to get in the King Stallion, taking the seat near the ramp. He set the packs down between his legs and calmly gazed out as the transport slowly lifted off the ground. It was finally over, he was going home.

Home... it is such a distant memory for him.

"Hey!" Dukeman called him with a light nudge to the shoulder, "Have you talked with your girlfriend lately?"

"About what?"

"Your relationship of course! Are you going to live with her or something like that?" He clarified. Truth be told, Raymond haven't thought about that, neither did Kuribayashi. Sure they talked for awhile from time to time but they haven't got a serious talk about their relationship. She loved him and he loved her, no doubt about that but how will they manage their personal lives and relationship?

Raymond simply shrugged in response, much to Dukeman's annoyance,"You can't be serious! What did I tell you about relationships? Communication!"

"I'll figure it out... somehow. What about you?"

Dukeman sighed heavily, frowning as he spoke up, "I'm sorry, bro, once my contract ends, it's over for me."

"Staying with the wife and kids?"

"Yeah... I think I've seen enough in the military. Plus, my wife will probably kill me if I extended my contract!" They both laughed before Raymond asked another question.

"How about work?"

Dukeman shrugged with a sly smirk,"I'll wing it."

"Ooh? Learning from me now, eh?"

"You're a bad influence to me."

Once back at Camp Dawnstar, the main operating base and starting base of the IDDF, built around the gate that linked the Digital World to the Real World, the Marines were directly instructed to their designated barracks while they were on stand by for an additional two days. Though it frustrated the impatient men and women, the Marines followed the instructions bitterly.

To pass the time, they were allowed to roam around the base or in the small town of Green Hills. The town was once the refugee camp installed by the JGSDF and U.S Army engineers before it expanded thanks to the influx of refugees and a generous amount of building materials sent by the Japanese and local governments, thus enabling the camp to welcome more digimon. Throughout the years, it grew and grew until it officially became a town of the small state. The military provided the inhabitants with food and medical supplies while several local organisations attract merchants and businesses from nearby regions.

Currently housing three thousand digimon, the town was an instant success at providing an increase in incomes for Dawnstar Hill and attracted further more digimon from foreign regions. Of course with such importance it held, the IDDF provided security with the established local police, made up of digimon volunteers, trained by the IDDF and financed by the Dramon Republic and recently the Royal Knights.

As the withdrawal of troops begins, the local police force will be the only security entity to protect the town while the base will constantly be guarded by several companies of human soldiers. If the IDDF wants to withdraw its troops, it will make sure to leave the Digital World a better place and not repeat the mistakes back on Earth. The last thing they want to deal with is an insurgency of supernatural and sometimes overpowered creatures.

It was late afternoon when Raymond decided to take a visit of the nearby town. It took him a couple of minutes of walking and after crossing a checkpoint he reached the town. Staying on the main stone road that led toward the town square, Raymond briefly observed the buildings around him. The buildings were mostly made of wood and stone, big enough to accomodate most digimon of different forms and sizes.

Ironically, the streets were flooded with numerous off duty soldiers, walking in groups and chatting amicably while the locals simply minded their own business. Military Police patrol units frequently drove or walked around in squads, their posture completely lax. The crime level is almost nonexistant, it was mostly petty thefts or bar fights caused by drunk soldiers or digimon, sometimes both.

After some wandering in the town square, Raymond stopped by a random local pub/hotel comically named "The Knight Shift".

Going through the wooden door, warm food first hit his nose. It smelled fresh and delicious, making his tastebuds wet. The joyful chatter of locals and soldiers filled the air, giving the pub a nice and welcomed feeling.

At his peripheral view, among the sea of cheery or drunk soldiers and civilians, was Renamon sitting alone at the far corner of the pub. Intrigued, he decided to greet and chat with her. When he got closer, he noticed that the digimon was staring at the outside world through the glass window with a blank stare, as if her mind was somewhere else.

"Renamon," The digimon's head snapped at him and she immediately stood up with a sharp salute, her face blushing through her golden fur. "Easy," Raymond said while chuckling, "We're in a pub, you don't have to be so formal."

They both sat down. A Lilamon waitress approached the human to take his order. After noting the order down, she politely bowed down and left the two Marines alone.

"So...what are you doing in a place like this?" He asked curiously.

Renamon glanced away, her fingers tapping the wooden round table nervously. He mentally noted her unusual behavior and antics. He waited a few seconds longer of silence before he coughed to get her attention back.

"Uh, yeah... I'm fine..." She said absently.

"You don't have to hide it, Renamon, everyone knows." He said with a heavy sigh. "Have you been visiting Doc lately?"

"I haven't gone there in weeks..." She replied flatly.

"What about Guilmon?"

"He's been doing fine... better than I anyway." She breathed out and rested her forehead on her hands, a headache soon attacking her.

"You shouldn't isolate yourself like this, Renamon, you'll do more harm than good." He reasonned concernly. "You should also lay off the energy drinks, all that caffeine consumption is destroying you. When's the last time you had any decent sleep?"

"At least it keeps me awake."

"But why? Why are you doing this to yourself?"

Renamon frowned but didn't dare to look at Stephen in the eyes, she simply avoided him and wanted to change the conversation. Unfortunately for her, the Marine in front of her is known to never give up. She considered vanishing on the spot but her pride and dignity held her in place. She gave up and decided to tell the truth.

"I do not want to sleep... I... I do not want see my nightmares anymore...I do not want to see my failures... " Her gaze hardened, closing her fists tighter, fueled by anger and self shame. "I can't sleep, sir, their lifeless eyes haunt me every night."

"It is not your fault these men died, Renamon, you did what you could." Raymond stated in a serious tone, "They knew the risks of their job, they volunteered to be Force Recon, they chose to be Recon Marines, fought for that title and knew exactly what they were in for."

"Being caught in a war that isn't part of their world was not in their job description. Get sent to fight in a very dangerous and deadly world was not what they signed up for." She retorted dryly, "Their families didn't know they were sent here in the first year of the war and now some of them return home in coffins. I failed to protect them."

"This is where you're wrong, Renamon," He countered firmly, "Your job was to lead them to battle and accomplish the mission. Their job was to protect one another, including you. These men were Marines, taught to give up their lives for another and never give up. They did their duty by sacrificing their lives for each other, for you. Gary risked his life for you; he knew the danger and did it anyway. Any other soldier would've done the same." He reached out a hand to gently grasp Renamon's paw, slightly squeezing it, "They are not Rika; they are part of a special brotherhood, looking out for each other. They died as Marines, their sacrifices were not in vain."

He withdrew his hand away as he let his words sink in the mentally disturbed digimon. He hoped his words would take an effect on her, at least for the better.

The digimon waitress finally came back with his drink on the tray. She also gave him the bill and left with a small smile. He took a look at the bill and was midly surprised to see a discount on his drink. He laughed when he noticed that the waitress left a small message at the bottom.

 _"Hey, made a special discount just for you, handsome~ Hope to see you soon! ;)"_

"Christ, looks like the waitress is hitting on me." He said as he showed the message to Renamon.

She let out a soft giggle, shaking her head in disbelief. He noted that her mood got slightly better which meant that progress was made. The two of them chatted for awhile until Renamon decided to head back to base, wanting to spend the night with Guilmon. Having no other reason to stay in the pub, Raymond followed her out of the pub and into the streets where the lamp posts were lighting up the small town.

"Raymond," Renamon called him before they were about to go to separate paths, "Thank you... for helping me." She clarified gratefully.

He smiled warmly at her, "I'm just looking out for my fellow Marines. I'm a captain for a reason."

The vixen gave him a sharp salute and vanished from sight, leaving the Marine alone in the empty street.

* * *

Renamon reappeared in front of her designated barracks, where Guilmon's sleeping quarter is also at. Since Flamedramon decided to stay in the Digital World, the red saurian digimon was left without a roommate, which didn't bother him since it allows Renamon to stay with him at night.

Naturally, she got in the building without a single sound, her soft feet muffled her footsteps without the lost of speed. She arrived at his door, lightly knocked at it before entering the room.

"Hey." Guilmon greeted her with a warm smile, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Hey yourself." She replied before planting a quick kiss on his muzzle.

The red saurian kissed her back passionately, catching her off guard before she closed her eyes and enjoyed the warm embrace. Gently, she pushed him towards the bed, lying on top of him and pinning his arms down. She reluctantly pulled out of the kiss, panting as she feels her cheeks heating up.

"What was that for?" She asked curiously, surprised at Guilmon's bold move.

"I just love you," He replied with a sheepish shrug, "I'm happy to have you here...with me."

"You're too sweet, Guilmon..." She gave a small peck on his lips, "Keep it up."

"Your wish is my command," Guilmon replied with a soft laugh, "Staff Sergeant."

"Shut up, Lance Corporal and kiss me." She ordered playfully before they shared another long and passionate kiss.

After several minutes of cuddling and kissing, along with a small tickle fight caused by an over eager and later defeated Guilmon, the digimon couple lied on the bed in each other's loving embrace, staring deeply at each other's eyes. Renamon nestled comfortably against Guilmon. His strong arms were wrapped around her lithe and athletic body while she had her fluffy tail covering his waist, giving him more comfort and warmth. Guilmon's tail gently caressed her legs, sending light shivers down her spine.

The reptilian digimon enjoyed her soft fur against his smooth scaly skin. He calmly and slowly breathed in her natural scent, a mixture of honey, sakura and roses, the intoxicating perfume becoming an addiction of his. The fact that he can smell from hundreds of meters away reinforced his addiction and love for her. Instinctively, when he's around her, he feels overly protective; and in their current embrace he doesn't want to let her go.

Renamon softly ran a hand across Guilmon's abdomen, noticing the fit muscles he gained since joining the Corps. She felt him sighing pleasantly on her head, his soft breathing soothed her mind and made her sensitive ears twitch pleasantly. She placed a small kiss at his neck before placing a hand on his cheek and rubbing her thumb against the skin lovingly.

She stared back at his eyes, the golden orbs shone through the calm darkness of the room as it was now past midnight. His eyes showed glimmers of happiness, love and kindness. They were mesmerizing, always drawing her attention as if charmed by them; they were one of the reasons she fell in love with him.

"Guilmon?" He replied with a hum, still staring at her warmly, "Have you... Have you ever thought of having a child?"

A small smile graced his lips as he replied with: "Yeah but it was mostly at the back of my mind."

"Do you want one? With me?" She asked shyly, feeling as if her head is about to explode.

Fortunately, Guilmon was in the same flustered state, though for an entirely different reason.

"I-I would love to but... I don't know how..." He stuttered in embarrassment, "I mean I watched how it was done in the Real World but with us... we do not have the, uh... necessary "equipment"..." His blushing cheeks were now redder than his natural scales.

Renamon inched her face away with a playful smirk and an raised eyebrow. "You mean you've already watched porn?" She asked mischievously.

Flabbergasted by her blunt question, Guilmon was at a lost for words before he spewed out incoherent words while his brain was rebooting. Renamon giggled softly as she noted that he was acting just like his tamer when faced with similar situations.

"Does a documentary about foxes counts as porn?"

Probably the funniest thing she has heard in a long time, the vixen laughed uncontrollably to the point her eyes tearing up and her stomach aching while Guilmon struggles with his nervous antics.

"It-It was a long time ago, okay? I-I wanted to know more about you and I thought maybe that documentary on TV would help me... I was young and stupid back then," He explained nervously, "Gosh, I still wished I hadn't watch that..." He shuddered at the traumatising memory.

"Don't worry, we won't do any of "that"," Renamon assured him after recovering from her laughter. "It's quite simple but it'll take a lot of your energy." She explained calmly as she sat up.

"And how do you know all of this?" He asked curiously.

"Sakuyamon taught us." She stated as a matter-of-fact, "Are you sure you want to do this? We can wait-"

"No, I do want to have a child with you..." Her partner declared nervously, "I-I love you, Renamon, and if this is a step you want to take then I'll do it for you. I-I-I'll make sure to be a good father and love our child as much as I love you and-"

His passionate stuttering was cut off by Renamon's lips locked on his, making him gasp in surprise before he moaned into the kiss. He felt her lips parting away, almost whimpering for more. She cupped his cheeks in her hands and gazed lovingly into his eyes, gently nuzzling her muzzle against his.

"Just focus on me, show me that you love me, let your heart speak for you," She took his hand and placed it on her chest where her increasingly beating heart was, "Do you feel that?" She felt his head nodding against her right cheek, prompting her to giggle softly, "Try to match the rythm of my heart." She then placed one hand on his chest, feeling his heart drumming in anxiety and excitement.

"And how do I do that?" He asked with his eyes closed, too entranced with the beating of her heart.

"It's simple... love me..." She leaned in and connected her lips with his once again, planting a soft kiss.

They deepened their kiss by letting their tongues caressing each other, causing them to moan in delight. Slowly, their heartbeats began to synchronise, matching up speed as the affection grew more passionate. Eventually their hearts bloomed and shimmered as dim data stream sprung out and danced around the digimon couple, mixing and connecting with one another. It was a mesmerizing spectacle as more data streams hazily floated around them, merging and creating new data particles which then formed another stream.

Renamon gently pushed Guilmon back on the bed, lying on top of him before reluctantly pulling out of the heated kiss.

"I love you." She declared softly.

"I love you too." He replied gently.

She nuzzled lovingly below his chin while he wrapped his arms around her, embracing her and showering her with small kisses. As the data streams shimmered down, the couple began to experience tiredness, quickly slumping into a deep sleep in each other's arms.

Unbeknownst to them, the mating ritual was a success, a digi-egg was created; though not in a place they intended to expect but fitting at the same time.

The next morning came as dawn rose over the hills and valleys. Corpsman John "Doc" Eugene was already up, a warm cup of tea in hand, heading straight for the medical station. Once in his workplace, he greeted two fellow medics before he went through the attached infirmary.

He stopped dead in his tracks once he laid eyes on a digi-egg laying on the cot to the right. Puzzled, he walked towards it, pinched himself to check if he was awake, took a sip of his coffee then finally poked the big egg. He noticed that the egg was completely white with a yin yang symbol within a hazard sign. He walked back to the desk at the left hand corner of the infirmary and searched through the cupboards and cabinets for a digimon scanner.

The scanner, built and provided by the Royal Knights, enables a human to identify a digimon, giving them basic information such as types, levels and attacks. He shortly found one and went back to the egg, pulling the scanner's trigger before a blue light flashed out at the end of the scanner and swiped up and down the egg. The device beeped and loaded the egg's information.

"A hybrid Relemon?" He mumbled with puzzlement. He then read the short description, "Procreated with the data of a Renamon and a Guilmon..."

Thankfully in this world, there exist only two digimon of the Guilmon-species, one is a Royal Knight and the other is among his platoon. His eyes shot open with the sudden realisation. It was clear how the egg got here and how it was made.

"Oh fuck me..." He groaned in irritation.

* * *

Raymond set his tray on the table as he sat down, facing a half asleep Dukeman, slowly stirring his foam cup of coffee. The officer remained quiet, taking a few bites of his omelette, enjoying the early morning breeze at the exterior cafeteria, before starting up a conversation.

"You look like shit."

"Thanks." Dukeman retorted sarcastically.

"You've been roaming around town?" Raymond enquired with an amused interest.

"Yep... the boys bet two hundred bucks if I beat a local in a drinking game." Louis explained with a hoarse voice, "Chugged twelve pints but I fucking won." He said proudly and tiredly before he showed Raymond the two hundred dollars won in his hand.

"Jesus Christ, Louis, was it really worth it?"

"If it made those guys shed tears of defeat? Yes."

"I guess I can't argue with you on that." Raymond stated with sly smirk.

"If you don't mind me, skipper, I'm gonna take a nap here." Dukemon told him without room for protest, he pulled his combat shades out of his shirt pocket and put them on. He rested his head on his arms like a pillow and shortly slept quietly.

Raymond shook his head and went back to eating his breakfast while enjoying the peace and quiet. The mess hall had only a couple of soldiers currently eating their breakfast, most of the soldiers in the base were either working or still asleep. At the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a small group of JSDF personels before they went in the mess hall. He didn't put much thought about this and decided to take another cup of coffee, leaving discreetly the still sleeping Gunnery-Sergeant.

He casually made his way to the coffee machine, greeting briefly some of his fellow Marines on the way there. He chatted a bit with the two British soldiers queuing for the machine. When his turn was up, he said his goodbyes to the two Brits and patiently waited for the coffee machine to fill his cup. As the machine emitted its iconic loud shatter, shredding the coffee beans and heating up the water, he felt a presence behind him, probably just another soldier or Marine. Then that person spoke up.

"Um... Raymond." A timid female voice murmured.

Raymond instantly froze up, not expecting to meet Kuribayashi this soon in the day. He turned around and gave her a small friendly smile, trying to act cool in this awkward situation.

"Do you mind if we talked somewhere else... in private?" The petite woman seemed to be as flustered as him, shifting nervously in place while glancing left and right to make sure no one was staring at them.

"Uh, yeah sure." He replied after he picked his cup, following her out of the mess hall and down a hallway.

They turn around a corner and made sure they were alone in this part of the building. Satisfied, Kuribayashi cleared her throat and gazed at him.

"Are we still... together?" Her timid and fearful question made Raymond chuckle, amused to see her like this, like a scared puppy.

Deciding to use actions to speak his opinion, he bent down and kissed her on the lips. "Does that help you?" She nodded her flushed face vigorously, clearly not excepting yet enjoying the small kiss.

"S-sorry... it's just I'm worried that we might not be able to see each other much; once we get back home." She explained concernly, her hands held on his left hand, giving it a tight squeeze.

He sighed, he knew what she was feeling. In all honesty, he shared the same feeling; they were both soldiers from different countries. The military is a very demanding job, leaving them very little of alone time or rest. At first glance, their relationship is unconceivable and wouldn't last long; long distance and military relationships usually don't last very long. _Usually_... not guaranteed, so he has his hopes high up.

"It's going to be difficult at first, for sure," He stated with a frown, "...But I'll do anything to make this last. We will make this last." He said confidently. "I love you... I really do. I'll call you when I can, I'll visit you when I can."

A soft and warm smile graced her face, looking up to him with hope. She lifted a hand to his cheek and gently stroke it before leaning forward and kissed him back.

"I love you too."

"Maybe one day I could live with you. A little apartment in Tokyo, just the two of us." He suggested with a smile, feeling his heart pounding against his chest.

"I want a dog too." She said while resting her head on his chest.

"We'll get a dog too." He confirmed and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"How long do you plan on staying in the military." She asked nonchalantly, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"I dunno... the Marine is what I wanted for my whole life. I've already extended my contract to an additional five years."

"I have three more years... I wanted to continue but... after what I've seen and being with you; I kinda lost, I don't know what to do with my life after the army."

"We'll figure something out, I'm sure there's a solution to everything." He assured her with a warm hug.

"Promise me?" She asked hopefully.

"I promise."

The couple stood in each other's arms for long minutes before they had to get back to the mess hall and actually finish up their breakfast before the routine tasks of the day begin. Once Raymond got back to his table, he had the unexpected surprise of seeing all of the platoon leaders of the company staring at him expectantly while Dukeman had a cat-like, teasing grin. It didn't take him long to realise what was happening.

"You fucker..." He said with an annoyed look.

"Oh c'mon! These guys are getting impatient and want to know the juicy stuff." Dukeman replied in defense.

"I ain't going to tell anything to you hopeless bastards." He retorted as he sat down, earning him a collective groan from the others. "Screw all of you!"

The rest of the day went on uneventful. The Marines packed up their equipment and gear, a small party was held by Colonel Eversman in the evening as their last stay on the Digital World. Renamon and Guilmon have been scolded at by a very unhappy "Doc" Eugene after he gave them the digi-egg. The Marines slept early that day for tomorrow a big event is held for their departure.

* * *

 _May 20th 2020, Camp Dawnstar, 0630 hours._

Gathered in formations on the tarmac of the airfield, the Marines of the 1st "Digimon Expeditionary Marines" and the JSDF soldiers of the 2nd "Combat Task Force" stood silently at the attention of their respective commanders. The Marines wore their woodland MARPAT uniform with their plate carrier on, their rifles slung to the side and lightweight combat helmet on. Behind them were the transport vehicles that would lead them through the gate and into Tokyo. Beside the giant stone gate that linked between the two worlds was a podium where Eversman, Richards, Lieutenant Colonel Hazama and Major Higaki stood side-by-side while the ambassador of the Council of Network Security, QueenChessmon, begins her farewell speech to the men and women of the IDDF.

"Brave and honourable soldiers of the International Digimon Defense Force, I, QueenChessmon, as a representative of the Digital World, want to express my highest gratitude for the sacrifices you've done to bring peace and stability in this world. The voices of billions of digimon thank you all for fighting for their freedom. You've fought hard and bitterly to achieve victory. You've been through many hardships and battles, lost many of your own. Despite the horrors of the war, fought far away from your home and families, you've stood your grounds and pushed on, facing the Imperium head-on no matter the consequences. Such display of courage, selfless sacrifice and devotion to duty cannot be questionned. You've proven the Digital World that in unity you can accomplish anything. Your will to fight and courage will be the prime example and admiration for many in this grateful world of untold generations. Your actions in the battlefield, of honour and justice, will echo in the hearts and minds of digimon across the world. We thank you all and we are forever indebted to you. I hope peace will reign from now on and that we can establish a relation with your world. May you return home to your families safely and cherish your time with them."

The ambassador gave them a formal military salute before she turned to the commanders and repectfully shook their hands. Colonel Eversman stepped up to the podium, first adjusting the microphones before adressing to his Marines.

"I also prepared a speech but I promise to make this very short and less sappy." His statement earned a round of laughter from the Marines, relaxed by the light humour. He cleared his throat before beginning his speech. "Marines, it has been a honour to lead you to battle, the proudest years of my life. It has been a hard war for us. Intense and heavy battles were fought across this world but we pushed through adversity victoriously. We're the United States Marine Corps, and for over two hundred years, we win battles for our great nation. Once again, you've proven yourselves in battle and solidified our reputation in this world. Sadly, this will be the last time I'll be serving in the Corps for my time is up. The actions and sacrifices done by you in this world will be remembered for the coming years. As part of this new international coalition, you'll be remembered and known for the rest of your lives as "Digital Marines", Earth's first line of defense and the Digital World's finest warriors. Semper fi, Marines! And get your asses back home!"

"OORAH!" The Marines roared in response, their voices echoed loudly and clearly across the base.

Finally the farewell ceremony was over, as the commanders exchanged a few words with QueenChessmon, the Marines and Japanese soldiers broke formation and immediately embarked in their designated vehicles. The men and women chatted among themselves animatedly, excited and anxious to get back on Earth. Raymond in the meantime was searching in the sea of soldiers for a particular person. He politely pushed aside some Japanese men before he spotted Kuribayashi about to get on board a Type 96 APC.

"Shino!" He hailed over to her with a wave of his arm.

The woman stopped in her tracks, looked around her before noticing Stephen approaching her quickly.

"Raymond? What are you-"

She didn't get to finish her sentence as Stephen pulled her into a kiss. She gasped into the kiss before closing her eyes and returning the embrace. Unbeknownst to her, the platoon's inspiring photographer, Sergeant Hayato Sasagawa, discreetly took a snap of the moment with his camera while the others tried to suppress the urge to laugh teasingly. The Marine officer parted his lips from hers, a broad grin plastered on his face while his cheeks were furiously red. He slipped in a piece of paper in her right hand.

"See you on the other side!" He said with a wink before running back to his vehicle, leaving behind a very flustered and stunned Kuribayashi.

It took her brain seconds to reboot and register what just occurred to her. At first she smiled widely, her eyes gazing lovingly at the retreating Marine and let out a dreamy sigh. But an exclaimed gasp from Kurata broke her trance. She looked into the vehicle and saw that the whole team was staring back at her with wide grins and teasing smiles. Realizing shortly what was going on, she huffed and acted angry at them, failing miserably considering her flushing face betrayed her.

She got in the APC, took her seat and looked away from them, ignoring the stares of the male soldiers.

"At least I have a chance of getting laid!" She snapped back at them. Most of them frowned and gazed down at their own feet in shame.

Itami was the only one to genuinely laugh at the young soldiers while Tomita shook his head in amusement. He heard the hatches closing shut as the crewmembers got ready to move. The driver turned his head to the soldiers.

"You boys ready to go home?" He asked loudly.

"HAI!" They all replied eagerly.

"Okay! We're moving out in four minutes!" The driver announced ecstatically after starting the engine up.

The speakers on the hangar hollered, signaling the large convoy to move through the dark void that resides in the gate. Slowly and in tight formation, the transport vehicles drove through the gate, instantly gone from sight once they traverse the gateway.

At the other side, home was waiting for them with open arms.

* * *

 _Yokota Air Base, Fussa, 0845 hours._

As predicted, a large crowd of Japanese citizens happily welcomed and cheered at the homecoming troops once out of the militarized Ginza District. Cries of joy and encouraging applauses were heard along the way of the convoy. It was a warm and refreshing sight for the weary Marines and JSDF soldiers. The military convoy eventually reached its destination at the Yokota Air Base, where the Marines would get a debrief of their temporary stay in Japan before taking their flight back to the United States. Meanwhile the Japanese simply reorganised themselves and were on stand by as they wait impatiently to have the green light to go back home.

Raymond was called over by Richards for an officers' meeting, barely having the time to get his packs out of the vehicle. He joined him in a meeting room where other Marine officers were gathered in the small room. Facing the group of Marines were three men; Eversman, Yamaki and another man he didn't recognise.

The Lieutenant-Colonel stepped forward and coughed loudly to get the men's attention, "I would like to introduce to you all the head of Hypnos, Yamaki, and Minister of Defense, Kanō. Listen up and closely to what they are about to announce. A new world in your career is about to begin, gentlemen. Sir." Eversman nodded at Yamaki before he allowed the Japanese man to step forward.

"A new frontier has been opened to our world, this means a drastic change will take in effect in our world. As we speak, the United Nations is trying to establish relations with several states and kingdoms in the Digital World. As you may have guessed, nations around the world are taking a sudden interest in the Digital World as well as getting more concerned in terms of security. In other words, we need boots on the ground to maintain peace and stability over there." He explained straightforwardly, taking a pause to let the information sink in the Marines. "The U.N wants to maintain and expand the IDDF, improving its equipment and strategies. For now, the Digital World is strictly available to the military and diplomats. Future expeditions into that world is planned, probably in the next year or so."

An officer suddenly raised a hand up, getting Yamaki's attention, "Can't we just close the gate and leave them alone?"

"Despite how many wish this, closing this gate is cutting our only direct access to the Digital World... But it won't prevent digimon from bio-emerging in our world." Several Mariens started to chat in surprise, concerned and dreading such risk. "Despite Japan's increase in military budget and manpower, we do not have the sufficient soldiers nor proper equipment to tackle both defenses here and in the Digital World."

"That is why, with the agreement of the U.N and the Prime Minister, a NATO base will be installed here in Tokyo to assure a quick reaction task force as well as acting as a forward base of operations for the IDDF." The Minister of Defense informed them.

"That is where we enter," Eversman stepped in, "The President is looking to expand the Digital Marines, currently forming the second battalion as we receive a large influx of willing recruits. You will be forming these new Marines with your experiences and new tactics. We will also be receiving new weapons and equipment, so be prepared to adapt to these changes. I'll be cutting you guys the long details of the inner workings of this change but as stated, the Digital Marines will only accept volunteers." He then pulled out a sheet of paper and displayed it to the Marine officers. "Simply sign here if you wish to be part of this. You will be leaving the War on Terror and work to the Digital Front. All enlisted Marines and NCOs are immediately reassigned to their original units and must reenlist if they want to serve in the Digital Marines." He placed down the said paper on the table beside them.

"Are there any questions?" Yamaki asked.

Raymond then raised his hand up, "When do we start this?" He asked with interest.

"In six months. A second expedition is already in the works but we will stay here in Tokyo in the meantime." Eversman replied before he looked at the others for any questions. Satisfied with the silence, he concluded the meeting and let the Marines off.

As Raymond was about to head out, he sensed Yamaki walking beside him soon after the meeting ended.

"Raymond," The blonde man said, stopping the Marine in his tracks, "I've heard there's a fourth digimon coming along. Has Flamedramon changed his mind?"

"Huh?...Oh no, actually they are still a digi-egg." Yamaki's confused look was enough of a hint to Raymond that he hasn't heard the full story. "Renamon and Guilmon are having a baby and they are waiting for it to hatch."

"Wait what?! Renamon and Guilmon?" Yamaki was completely at a lost for words.

First off, he didn't expect Renamon to mate with Guilmon, he was (to him) an immature and naive digimon. Secondly, he was surprised that they were able to create a digimon since Guilmon is made up by Takato; this could only mean that they've managed to create a hybrid digimon.

"Interesting..." He mumbled to himself.

"They are at the hangar if you're looking for them." Raymond pointed out before leaving the man alone in his thought.

After grabbing his packs, Raymond headed for his temporary sleeping quarter, like many Marines who followed in groups while chatting among themselves.

Just another stop before they could travel back to the States.

* * *

Renamon stared off at the passing environment as she, Guilmon and Monodramon were being driven to the Metropolitan Government Building where their families and friends awaited for them. She glanced back at the digi-egg nestled on her lap, carefully rubbing its soft shell with her paw. Her heart was pounding nervously, apprehensive of the reaction of her friends and family, questionning her own sanity if she was fit for civilian life. Her nervousness was comforted when Guilmon gently placed a paw on top of hers, giving a gentle squeeze. She gazed back at him and smiled in response. The red saurian sat in between Renamon and Monodramon, the latter was fast asleep, snoring soundly after he chatted a bit with them.

A couple of minutes later, the black SUVs went in the underground parking lot of the building complex and parked there. Hypnos security agents got out of the vehicles of the small convoy and pulled the side doors open for the digimon. They quietly escorted the VIPs to the elevator with Yamaki at the lead.

"So, uh... congratulations," Yamaki awkwardly began, "How does it feel to be a parent?"

"Exciting and terrifying at the same time." Guilmon admitted sheepishly.

"Heh, it'll be fine, Guilmon, I know you two will be great parents." Monodramon chimed happily, which surprised both Renamon and Yamaki.

"Thanks, Cyber- I mean Monodramon." Guilmon replied with a grateful smile. The smaller dragon gave a thumbs up and a wink in response.

The elevator reached the floor with an abrupt halt. A cheerful ring opened the sliding door, letting the passengers out into a standard and plain looking hallway. Yamaki led the digimon towards a multipurpose room with only two of the eight security agents following him, the rest went to the opposite direction.

Yamaki stepped aside and pulled the door open, letting the digimon in first. Cheers erupted as soon as they entered the room to their surprise. The room was decorated and fitted as a party room. A large banner hung from the ceiling, the words _**"Welcome Home!"**_ written in bold blue. The families and friends of respective digimon happily ran towards them and hugged them dearly, finally reunited with them.

Takato was the first to jump at Guilmon, tackling the dinosaur digimon to the ground in a tight hug. His digimon partner happily hugged his tamer and best friend. The two were almost on the edge of crying out tears of joy. _Typical_ , Renamon thought with a faint smile before she was greeted by a flash of red-hair and strong arms wrapping around her shoulders. The vixen instantly knew who it was and embraced her tamer back, not wanting to let her go.

"You're finally here..." Rika said with teary eyes.

Before Renamon could open her mouth, she felt another set of arms wrapped around her and tears dripping on her left shoulder. She smiled when she noticed that Rumiko also joined in the family hug while Seiko simply waved at the digimon with a proud and cheerful grin. She looked around for Monodramon only to find him being held onto preciously by an emotional Ryo Akiyama. The purple dragon is trying to calm his tamer down but to no avail.

"What's with the egg?" Rumiko asked, taking a closer look at the egg tucked under Renamon's arm.

At that moment, everyone's attention slowly directed towards her. She shifted awkwardly in her spot and took in a deep breath.

"It's my child... our child." She answered while looking at Guilmon.

A stunned silence filled the room. Then Rumiko covered her mouth in shock before smiling widely and embraced the digimon once more. The others congratulated the couple while Rika was still in shock. She shook her head to recover from it and simply smiled in happiness for her partner.

They continued the rest of the day in celebration before they were allowed to go home with their families. Yamaki assured the digimon that he'll pay them a visit the next week and bid them a goodnight and rest.

To Renamon, this was by far the happiest day of her life.

* * *

 _May 22nd 2020, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California._

Raymond let out another yawn for the umpteenth time as Dukeman tiredly fiddled with the key card to their dorm room. The Marines have just arrived in the United States at past midnight. With the jet lag, many were on the edge of collapsing when their boots hit the ground at the airport. Richards gave them the generous permission of a two-week shore leave, enough time for the men and women to recover from the jet lag and rest before they return to their usual Marine routine.

The door let out a beep once Dukeman finally slid the key card through the slot. He opened the door, turned the lights on much to Raymond's protest, and both Marines dropped their packs and crashed on their respective beds, not bothering to take their boots or uniform off.

The next morning, after a much needed warm shower and fresh set of clothes, the two Marines were heading for the mess hall. In there they were greeted by other Marines, some were half-asleep while others were already fully awaken. They got their breakfast, did their morning routine before they prepared their civilian packs to leave the camp. After changing into their casual civilian clothing, they left the camp and called in for a cab.

During the trip to the airport, Stephen's smartphone buzzed in his jeans' pocket. He pulled the phone out and opened his messages. A faint smile appeared on his lips. He typed in a few words and sent it. A response soon appeared and he chuckled, typing his next message.

"Girlfriend?" Louis asked with a sly smirk.

"...yes..." Stephen sighed, expecting this conversation.

Louis leaned over to his phone, his friend didn't bother to stop him and let him read the conversation. He snickered and nudged him.

"Look at that award winning smile," He pointed out to Stephen, "You finally have a girlfriend."

"Oh come on, it's not the first time that I'm in a relationship." Stephen said with a roll of his eyes.

"Bro, that chick from highschool doesn't count." Louis stated with a deadpan stare.

"What about Sarah?" Stephen asked, mentionning his ex-girlfriend.

"Need I remind you that she cheated on you while we were in Afghanistan."

"Yeah but we're still friends now." He replied with a casual shrug. "Besides our relationship wasn't that serious after a year. I kinda expected that."

"I know but we're talking about Sarah here, the nicest girl we've met since highschool. Sucks for you that a bombshell cheated on you." Stephen stared at him with a thoughtful look and grimaced.

"Shit, you're right..." He admitted with mild surprise. "Oh well, it was nice while it lasted." He said nonchalantly.

"What about her then?" Louis asked while pointing at his phone, presumably at Stephen's new girlfriend.

"I'm actually looking forward to a serious relationship with her... I dunno... I just feel great when I'm with her..." He explained nervously while his cheeks turned red.

Louis laughed and patted him on the shoulder, "Hey man, if she makes you happy than I'm happy for you." He then raised his left hand with his wedding ring on, "And eventually you'll end up with this."

"Sure why not, maybe after the Corps." Stephen said casually and thought about his life as a married man. It made him smile inwardly.

* * *

 _May 23rd 2020, San Francisco._

The cab arrived at his desired destination. He paid the driver and took his luggages out of the trunk. After the taxi drove off, Stephen looked up at the iconic Victorian-style rowhouse seen in numerous neighborhoods of San Francisco. With a deep breath, he walked up the steps of the colorful house and knocked on the white wooden door. From the otherside, he heard a muffled voice before a shuffling of feet approached the door at a moderate pace. The person at the other side unlocked the door and opened it.

A small Asian woman, in her late fifties, peered out and look at the man in front of her door. Her small friendly smile grew wider in pure joy as she instantly recognised her son standing before her. Without a word, she clasped her arms around him while tears of joy dripped on his black and blue flannel shirt. She cupped her hands on his cheeks, making sure she wasn't dreaming.

"Oh my God, you're home!" She cried in happiness and planted a long kiss on his left cheek. "Olivia! Jean! Stephen's here!"

Rapid footsteps echoed loudly from the first floor. Appearing at the top of the staircase, Stephen's baby sister, Olivia, gasped in surprise before she pratically screamed and jumped her way down towards him, tackling him into a fierce hug. Meanwhile his father, Jean, calmly walked out of the kitchen with a wide grin, spreading his arms out and demanding his second son to embrace him. Stephen, after freeing himself from his overjoyed and clinging sister, gladly hugged his father back.

He never felt this much joy in his life. It wasn't his first time returning from a deployment but this time, the feeling was much stronger and greater. He felt relief, alive and happy to be reunited with his family.

He was finally home and there was no other place he'd rather be than with his family.


	42. Epilogue

Epilogue

 _Eight months later..._

Icy blue eyes suddenly flashed open, a shaky breath escaped her mouth in the dark silence of her bedroom. She glanced at the digital clock on her bedside table. It read 04:13. She groaned and slowly sat up from her bed. Something stirred to her right on the bed. Peeking out of the bedsheet were two golden innocent orbs, filled with worry.

"Are you okay, mommy?" The voice squeaked concernly. She faintly smiled and craddled her child in her arms. The child was a small furry creature with two big pointy ears, little limbs and a long fluffy tail. Her red fur covered much of her body expect her white tipped tail. The hybrid Viximon purred lightly into her mother's strong but caring arms.

"I am fine, my child, mommy just had a nightmare." Renamon explained in a motherly tone, planting a soft kiss on Viximon's forehead. "You can go back to sleep, sweety."

"Are you afraid, mom?" Her daughter asked in a rather serious tone, looking up to Renamon with worrying eyes, "I heard you whimpering and sobbing during your sleep."

Renamon remained quiet, stunned by Viximon's question. She thought of a simpler way to explain her mental condition. She didn't want to show weakness in front of her daughter however she didn't also want to lie to her. After some thought, she took in a deep breath and sighed.

"I'm not afraid, I'm... a little bit sad." Viximon stared at her in confusion, tilting her head to the side like Guilmon would when he was younger. "When your father and I were soldiers.. I, we saw things that caused sadness... then they become nightmares. I'm sad but I'm never afraid." Renamon clarified with a confident smile, "Nothing can make me and your father afraid."

"Yeah! You're very strong digimon like the superheroes on TV!" Viximon agreed with a wide grin, admiring her parents since she came to this world. "B-but it's okay to be sad. Even strong digimon can be sad, right?" The small digimon stated naively.

Renamon giggled and patted the top of her head, "Father told you that, huh? I guess he's right on that; even strong digimon can be sad."

Viximon let out an adorable yawn, almost making Renamon squeal inwardly. The child's eyes were fluttering, struggling to stay awake as fatigue quickly consumed her. The vixen lied back down on the bed and rolled to the side, letting her child cuddle closer to her and wrapped an arm around her. Renamon gave Viximon a motherly smile before she shut her eyes close, catching up on some sleep.

And this time, her nightmares were gone for the reminder of early morning, instead her mind and heart were at peace and relaxed thanks to a certain red furball.

* * *

The lights were off in the conference room, only the images from the projector provided a dim source of light. The Minister Of Defense, Tarō Kanō, tore his eyes off the document in his hands and looked at the screen to his left, where the head of Hypnos, Mitsuo Yamaki, and the commander of the Special Forces Group, Colonel Kazufumi Ryuzaki, stood beside the screen about to present their project. Attending the meeting with him were four other governmental personels. Sitting to his right was ambassador Kōji Sugawara and ambassador Reiko Shirayuri of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At the opposite side of the conference table was Hideyo Komakado, head of the Public Security Intelligence Agency.

"With the fundings given to us by NATO and with the Prime Minister's approuval, we've created a new tier one Special Operations Forces unit." Ryuzaki stated calmly, "We've received a hundred twenty candidates – all volunteers – and they all went through four weeks of intensive physical and mental tests before they passed an additional week on Digimon-related tests. They then went through six weeks of formation in Digimon combat and civilian relations, trained by other tier one units from across the world. Only twenty have passed." He pressed a button from the projector's remote control, moving the next slide on the screen , showcasing the faces of the newly formed unit. "These are the best of the best that we could summon. They all had pass military experiences. Most were former SAT or SFG operators with some from the First Airborne Brigade."

"And what about that Marcus Damon fellow?" Komakado interrupted with a laid back tone. "He isn't Japanese and he isn't a former soldier of the JSDF."

"Indeed, Sergeant Marcus Damon is the only foreigner in the unit so far." The colonel confirmed as a matter of fact, "He is however half-Japanese and has plenty of military experience. He served two years in the United States Army, five years in the French Foreign Legion and four years as a Blackwater operator."

"Blackwater? You've accepted a foreign mercenary into the unit?" Shirayuri asked incredulously, "Does the Prime Minister know about this? Or the National Diet?"

"No and I wasn't too keen on accepting him into the group however Yamaki seemed to be convinced." Ryuzaki explained, motioning Yamaki to speak up.

"Uh, yes. At first glance, he may not look promising other than killing everything on sight, however he does have some extensive knowledge on Digimon, making him an important asset. The fact that he is the only foreigner to have applied in the program is a sign that he could immensely benefit us and the unit."

"Well if the kid managed to pass the tests, what's the point of wasting a promising talent?" Komakado claimed with a shrug, seeming to be on board with this.

"If we are looking for the best of the best and he shows it, I guess there aren't any problems." Sugawara agreed, much to Shirayuri's doubt.

"What about you, Kanō-san?" She asked hopefully to get him on her side.

"You've been awfully quiet there, sir." Komakado remarked with his hands behind his head casually.

The minister of Defense thought for moment and sighed before he expressed his opinion. "To be honest, I'm having some doubts that this unit would be enough to guarantee the security of our citizens and potentially our world." He said sceptically, "What's exactly their mission?"

"Well this unit is specialised in digital warfare. This means they will able to conduct deep reconnaissance, hostage rescue, infiltration and exfiltration, surveillance, raids and parachute operations among others in the Digital World." Ryuzaki informed straightly, "We want to put an emphasis on adaptability and speed. They are our first crisis responders, a task force able to deploy behind enemy lines under short notice and in small groups."

"They are _la crème de la crème_ of the JSDF, possibly the best unit in the SOF community." Yamaki added. "With their experiences and training from other SOF units, they can accomplish any mission at any time and anywhere."

"That does sound great," Shirayuri admitted respectfully, "However this unit doesn't have any _field_ testings." She remarked.

"I understand your doubt of their capabilities, but they will be put to the test when they will be deployed with the Second Digital Expeditionary Forces in three weeks." Ryuzaki informed them with confidence in the unit.

"And what's the unit's name?" Sugawara asked curiously, feeling a bit left out with all the military talks.

"Officially, it is called the Digimon Advanced Tactical Squad, DATS for short," Yamaki replied straightly, "However we just started to call it the "Data Squad" and that nickname stuck with them."

"Heh, it's a fitting name." Komakado admitted with a playful smirk. "Sounds like a rip off of the "Avengers"."

"Do you plan on having more recruits for this unit?" Ryuzaki nodded to Kanō in response.

"This time, with the accords of NATO, we'll be accepting more operators from other forces around the world."

"Then I say we let them face their baptism by fire, if they succeed, then you have my full support on this project." The minister finally conceded, having more faith in DATS's success rate.

* * *

A loading bar appeared in the middle of the video call, the caller was uploading a large amount of gigabytes' worth of data. The person at the receiving end silently stared at the files in confusion.

 _"What the hell are you sending, Harrison?"_ The person demanded sternly, his face completely overshadowed by the lack of a light source.

"Intel, Matt." Harrison replied flatly.

 _"On what?"_

"The upcoming apocalypse. Collected by some of our troops on the field during the campaign." He explained straightly while checking on the upload's progress bar. "It is called Project Purging by the Imperium and it somehow involves the Royal Knights, the World Tree and Yggdrasil."

 _"And it is now that you're sending us this intel?!"_ The higher ranking individual asked in disbelief and anger.

"Trust me, Matt, it wasn't easy to pry it off the Japanese intelligence agency and Hypnos, they knew about this ahead of us."

 _"And what do you expect us to do with this?"_ The man asked with interest and intriguement.

"A solution, a counter-measure to assure our species' survival." Harrison answered stoically.

 _"The Japs have the necessary counter-measures if they know about this. They will probably tell the whole world when they deem necessary. The war is over, stability and peace have been established between the Digital World and our-"_

"There won't be "our world" if we do not prepare ourselves against this." Harrison interrupted agitatedly, "This is something that could destroy both worlds. This isn't something we could solve with nukes, diplomacy or boots on the ground. The gate is about to close and if we do nothing then we'll abandon thousands of soldiers beyond that gate."

 _"What did you say about the gate?"_

"The gate is about to close on itself, shutting the link between the two worlds. Hypnos have estimated that it'll be in a couple of years, maybe in five to eight years." The head of the Delta Region Division explained with urgency, "The gate is consuming an enormous amount of data, more than we could give. The Juggernaut is slowly getting weaker, exposing our world to more digimon and that could lead to our destruction, the complete annihilation of Humanity. We'll have a wide gap in our wall."

 _"Okay... so what happens when the gate suddenly closes?"_

"If the gate closes, we have no access to the Digital World but _they_ do, we'll be exposed and open to the enemy."

 _"But who is this enemy you speak of, Harrison?"_

"It is a theory that I've picked up from Hypnos but apparently the Royal Knights are behind this...well more specifically Yggdrasil. This deity is planning to "reboot" the whole world, killing everything but one percent of the Digital population and they will try to merge our world with theirs; creating a new world order."

The upload bar was complete, all remaining files have been transferred to the head of the Central Intelligence Agency.

 _"We'll see what we can do about this... if what you say is true, Harrison."_

"If the Japs believe this, if our troops believe this; I think it's a good reason to take this matter seriously." Harrison stated with a frown.

 _"The U.N will hear about this sooner or later. Goodbye, Harrison and thank you for this... sensible information."_

The video call ended abruptly, two emblems were displayed side-by-side: the emblem of the DRD and the seal of the CIA.

"Let's hope we can avoid the end of the world..." Akita Harrison murmured dreadfully.

* * *

Like any day in Tokyo, the city was bustling with life. Numbering in the millions, the inhabitants of Tokyo go on with their daily lives and activities like a well-organised and disciplined ant colony. A well working machine of life. The crowd of people and rivers of cars looked like blood cells in veins from above. However the populous metropolis still bears the scars of the battle of 2017. Some chunks of wards and districts were still under reconstruction or in military control like Ginza District or the artificial island of Odaiba.

Two women happily chatted while they made their way into a shopping mall. They took the automated stairwell to access to the upper-levels of the mall. Strolling around to pass the time, they pass by many varied stores, observing some of the goods and products before walking along.

Passing a library, one of the women, a petite brunette glanced at the books displayed at the storefront. She looked away then abruptly halted in her tracks, stared back at a perculiar book with wide eyes and pratically glued her face at the window in pure shock.

"EH?!" Her friend heard her cry out, startling her in her stride.

"What are you doing, Shino-san?" Mari asked concernly, walking up to her side.

Shino pointed at a displayed book and spewed out incoherent words in utter shock, her face was completely red.

"h-h-h-h-o-ow?" She finally said through her stutter.

Mari directed her eyes towards the book and gasped immediately. She covered her mouth, stifling a soft giggle while her cheeks blushed light pink.

The book Shino was pointing at was a biography written by a soldier whom fought in the Digital World. Intilted _"Peace, War and Love: a soldier's journey."_ , the cover image was a photograph of her kissing a familiar Marine. She could tell that the photograph was taken during their departure and from the inside on an APC. This revelation struck her to the core and a mixture of anger and embarrassment boiled inside her.

"Hayato..." She hissed furiously, fuming with rage, "I'm so going to kill him when I-"

Her murderous rant was interrupted when another pair of women, much younger than them, tentatively walked up to the two off duty soldiers and hesitantly addressed to Shino.

"Um... excuse me, ma'am, but aren't you Shino Kuribayashi from this book?" One of them asked nervously while holding out a copy of the book in her hand.

The petite brunette's right eye twitched while Mari chuckled behind her, staring in amusement at the on-going scene.

"Er... yes, that's me." Shino finally answered in embarrassment. What came next will surprise her to no end.

"Can I have your autograph?" The younger woman begged with admiration in her eyes.

"eh?"

"Please?" The two of them begged with puppy eyes, "Your story is so awesome and sweet!" One of them said. "Yeah, and your relationship with that Marine is so cute and romantic!" The other added.

Shino had to physically shake her head for her brain to work properly. Awkwardly, she decided to sign the book. Her two "fans" squealed happily and asked her and Mari for a group photo. Hesitantly, they both agreed and joined them for the group selfie. Once the two fangirls bid farewell, Shino and Mari stared at each other and laughed. This has been a weird day for them.

It was already late afternoon when Shino reached her apartment. She dropped her keys on the kitchen counter and head straight for her couch in the living room. She ungracefully fell on the soft furniture, releasing a tired sigh on impact. She grabbed hold on one of her pillows and rested her head on it, swaying her feet in the air lazily.

She felt her phone buzzing in her shorts' pocket. She pulled it out and read her notifications. Her face beamed with a wide smile when a certain and special someone texted her with good news.

 _"Hey sweetheart, I'm in Okinawa now. I'll be in Tokyo next week. Can't wait to see you :)"_

She typed in her reply and sent it: _"Can't wait either! I miss you soooo much! Love you!"_

 _"Love you too~!"_

She hugged her pillow, sighing in happiness. Months of phone and video calls was getting unbearable for her; she needed him physically with her to fill in the void in her heart. Just thinking about him with her in bed made her smile grew wider... and her cheeks flushing brighter. Her phone buzzed again.

 _"Did you know we were in the cover image of a book? It is quite popular too..."_

She stared at the message with a deadpan look for a full minute.

"I'm so going to kill you, Hayato!"

* * *

 **Author's Note: _Enfin_ the first story of the series is over. I had a lot of fun writing this and I hope you enjoyed the story. I will begin writing the sequel aswell as the prequel though I do not know for sure when they'll be up, hopefully in a few months, depends with the ongoings of my life ( bachelor's degree and stuff). So to fill in some of those gaps, I've already prepared some short stories and I may rewrite or tweak some of the chapters in this story. A review is really appreciated, it could help me improve my writing. Also I want to say _un très GRAND MERCI_ to those that favourited/followed my story, really, it makes me happy, you're awesome gals and guys! :D**

 **That's all I have to say so... _à la prochaine!_ **


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